Danganronpa: Hope Reborn
by supertinagirl6
Summary: After Leon Kuwata's death at the hands of Monokuma's execution, a spirit offers him a second chance at life through rebirth. But should he die again, then his soul would be lost forever. Wanting the chance to start over, Leon accepts the offer. 20 years later, Leon now finds himself trapped in yet another killing game. Will he manage to survive this one or will his soul be lost?
1. Chapter 1 - Rebirth

Danganronpa: Hope Reborn

Chapter 1

"No! No! No! No! Noooooo!" were the last words echoing throughout Leon Kuwata's mind as he found himself chained to a pole with an automatic pitcher aimed at him. He had never imagined things would spiral out of the control for him. He had taken a life out of fear and now was about to pay the price. His heart pounded in fear when the ferocious rumble of the automatic pitcher turning on and loading many baseballs filled the air. There was no more doubt in the teenager's mind; he knew he was about to die. His pale-blue eyes glanced at the remaining survivors of the deadly killing game, seeing them watch in both horror and sadness from behind the metal fence.

He only wished he could make up for his mistake; he wished he could start over. His thoughts were shattered by the intense feeling pain as hundreds of baseballs were fired at his body at top speed. He could do nothing more than scream in silence until his world finally fell into darkness. A few seconds later, Leon slowly opened his tired eyes, finding himself floating in a dark void. The teen raised a brow in confusion, not expecting the afterlife to be nothing but an endless voice of despair.

"I suppose in the end I did deserve this." he muttered to himself, not caring that there was no else to listen, "They were all right. I did had the choice to not murder Sayaka. But I had to let my damn cowardice get the best of me, I had to be paranoid about the possibility of her trying to kill me again instead trying to calm her down. To think that I would be stuck playing baseball for the rest of my life was my worst fear, turn's out I didn't even have a future in the first place."

He grunted as he squeezed his eyes shut, finding it quite strange that despite being a spirit now, he could still feel the pain from his execution. The nineteen year-old figured it was only to serve as more punishment for his deed. But when he reopened his eyes, he nearly jolted back from what he saw. Floating in front of him a small girl that was surrounded by an unearthly blue glow. Upon quick examination, he noticed the girl looked like she was in a mangled state with torn clothes and bullet holes that ripped through her neck and chest.

Leon was puzzled by the girl's appearance until he finally heard her speak in a raspy whisper "I've been watching you."

A pang of fear would have ran through the teenager's heart if he had still been alive. The sound of the girl's voice chilled him to the bone, frightened of the large amount of despair it carried, something not normal for a child of such a young age.

"I've been watching you and your friends, ever since I felt despair in that school. Then I felt your despair... it made me feel sympathy." the girl stated.

Leon's mouth slowly opened in shock as the girl began explaining the events that led up to her death. While he didn't understand what she meant by "The Tragedy", it deeply disturbed him to hear how she was shot down by multiple killers for trying to flee. He felt uneasy hearing about how the girl's mother was so horrified by the sight of her dead daughter, she became filled with despair and turned just as murderous as her attackers.

"My last moments alive were seeing my mother viciously attack our attackers. She was filled with too much despair to understand that she had only made herself just as terrible as them. I don't want people's last moments to be those of despair. Which is why I want to help you." she finished in a stern tone.

The red-head couldn't help, but let out a bitter laugh in response.

"You say you want to help, but in case you didn't notice, we're both dead. Doubt you can be that much help, you're just as powerless as me in this situation." he commented with a small sneer.

But much to his surprise, the ghostly girl didn't show any kind of anger toward his statement. He saw she instead simply stared at him with her unnerving and despair filled frown. Suddenly he saw the girl hold out her hand for him without saying a word. While the girl was mostly filled with despair, the teenager could have sworn that he saw a small bit of hope was shining in the girl's eyes. He still doubted the girl could truly help him like she claimed, but he couldn't deny that he was drawn to that small chance of hope. The hope to have a second chance; the hope to be allowed to start anew.

Unable to resist the hope for a chance to makeup for his deed, he sighed before taking the girl's hand. Suddenly without warning, the black void begin to crack, causing white light to leak through it. He was confused about what was happening only for that confusion to turn into panic when he felt gravity take a hold of his form. The nineteen year-old inhaled sharply as he desperately clung onto the girl's hand.

"He-Hey! What the hell is going on?!" he demanded, still too terrified to let go.

His eyes widened when he saw a small smile formed on the ghostly girl's face, finding it surprising she was capable of another emotion aside from frowning.

"I'm letting you have your second chance. Normally rebirth is reserved for certain souls, but during my time here I was able to finally open up the path. Just a warning, since this is an improper rebirth, you will have all your memories of this life. Also be warned, should you die again, I cannot save you for your soul will be lost in this very void forever." the girl explained.

"You didn't exactly tell me that's what you meant by second chance!" Leon shouted through clenched teeth.

The girl did not utter a single word in reply, instead she simply shrugged her shoulders and let go of the teen's hand.  
The red-head's eyes were wide in both fear and uncertainty as his body fell toward the white light at top speeds. He could see it was too late to consider if taking a second chance and risking his soul being lost upon death was a bad idea. It was too late to turn back and the only thing he could do was move forward. Within seconds, his vision was consumed by a blinding bright light before, once again, his world slipped into darkness.

Nine months later, a young red-headed woman breathed heavily as sweat dripped down her body. Her fingers were scrapping across the cement, doing her best from screaming in pain. She glanced over at her husband whom was kneeling down next to a wrecked car with a shot gun in his hand. Worry filled her as her eyes drifted down to her swollen stomach. She never wanted to give birth during the worst and most despairing inducing event that has been plaguing the entire world for almost two years now.

Trying to focus on staying quiet as possible, she breathed through her nose as her husband ran over to her.

"Okay, I don't see any sign of anyone else. We need to get moving and find a doctor." the pale blue-eyed man stated.

He tried to help his wife sit up, but despair filled him when he saw her yelp in pain before rapidly shaking her head.

"I can't." the young woman managed to gasp out, "The baby is coming now. Honey, you have to deliver our child now."

"You can't give birth here! We'll surely be caught and killed if we do!" the man exclaimed whilst grabbing his wife by the shoulders, "The last thing I want is to lose you and our child."

The woman frowned while tilting her head down in guilt. She knew it was dangerous to try to deliver a baby in a spot that offered little to no shelter from killers, especially the Remnants of Despair. But unfortunately, she had little choice in the current situation. A painful contraction washed over her, prompting her to nearly cry out in response.  
Seeing that it was far too late to try to flee with his pregnant wife, the pale-blue-eyed man sighed as he leaned the young woman against the wrecked car. He only hoped that he could deliver his child safely without drawing the attention of the despair filled killers.

It felt like a process that took forever, especially with the constant paranoia of getting caught, but finally the silence was shattered by the sound of small crying. The red-headed woman was practically crying tears of joys at seeing her husband held a small baby boy in his arms, quickly taking the precautions with newborns before wrapping him up in his jacket.

"Please... let me see my baby." she managed to utter in a weak tone.

The man nodded before he gently placed the baby in his wife's arms.  
For the first time in two years, the young woman felt like she finally had hope again as she gazed upon the child in her arms. She stifled back her tears of joy when she saw the baby had a bit of red hair on his head, indicating he had inherited it from her, and the pale-blue eyes from his father. She lifted her head up just in time to see her husband sit down next to her.

"I hadn't expected him to be so healthy despite what's been going on. I'm... I'm just so relieved." the young man sighed in relief, glad to finally have some hope break through the despair, "So what shall we name him?"

The red-headed woman smiled as she held her baby close to her chest.

It didn't take her long to finally answer "Leon. I want to name him Leon."

"Leon?! What ever happened to naming him after my grandpa?" her husband asked with a frown.

"I know we agreed on naming him after your grandfather, but..." the newly mother started, taking a pause to gather her thoughts before continuing, "I feel like the name Leon is special. I can't quite explain it, I just have a strong feeling in my heart that his name should be Leon. I hope you're not angry."

The man pursed his lips as he glanced down at his newborn son. He couldn't understand why, but he felt his wife was right to name their child Leon. Almost as if he was always meant to have that name. With a sigh, he smiled while wrapping one arm around his wife, agreeing to the name.  
The red woman sighed in relief that that her husband agreed with her choice. Without a word, she held her baby close, gently pressing her cheek on top of his head. She couldn't help herself, with her son's birth came her newfound hope, something she desperately wanted to live for. She had hope once again through her newborn child, Leon Saisei.

Nineteen years had passed since that day with the days of the great Tragedy now long gone and society back to normal. Leon had grown into the teenager he once was before his death. He silently walked down the busy streets of Tokyo with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his black jeans that had a few large holes around the knees. His pale-blue eyes were filled with deep thought as he looked back upon his new life as a reborn person. He found it quite strange to have two sets of memories in his mind, one before his death and the other after his rebirth.

Upon thinking about the word "rebirth" he slightly chuckled to himself as he ran his hand through his spiky red hair.

 _"Leon Saisei huh. That girl didn't say anything about being born into a family that has a last name that literally means rebirth. Talk about irony at it's finest."_ he thought.

His thoughts were cut off when he felt a small round object hit his shoulder. Immediately his breath hitched and his heart raced in panic; the images of his deadly punishment from Monokuma racing through his mind. Without hesistation, he quickly jerked away from the ball, just in time to see a young boy run toward him to grab the baseball on the ground. He couldn't hide the visible fear on his face as the boy picked up the ball. Much to his relief, the boy only gave him a puzzled look before running back to his friend.

"If I wasn't still playing baseball to serve as a reminder not to repeat mistakes, I would swear it off all together. Especially after that horrifying execution." he grumbled himself while brushing the dirt off of his black jacket.

The red-head only paused to glance at the shirt he now wore which was a white shirt with a red phoenix on it. He recalled how his mother bought it for him due to his strange attachment to the story of the Phoenix, before he was able to fully remember his past life and how the ghost of that girl gave him a second chance at life. In a sense, he found it to be amusing his amnesiac young self was interested in a story connected to rebirth without yet being aware of the fact he was like the Phoenix himself.

Unfortunately his thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of a struggle down the street. Curiosity getting the best of him, he quickly ran toward the sounds of the struggle. There he was greeted with the sight of men in black suits trying to force a girl with light-brown hair around his age to get into a black van. Then teen could see the girl was doing her best to escape from her captors, but unfortunately they were too strong for her.

"This is going to be a bad idea... but I can't exactly just sit by and watch." Leon muttered with a frown.

Without warning, he quickly grabbed a discarded board near a trash can and charged toward the men in black suits. Thankful he still managed to retain his expertise swings in baseball, he smashed the board against one of the men's head. Much to his annoyance though, the moment the board hit the man's head, it shattered. He clenched his teeth in anger, tossing away the shattered board as the men in black suits turned their attention toward him.

"Get her into the car, the rest of us will deal with this damn kid." one of the men grunted to the one still holding the school girl.

The girl let out one shriek before a cloth was slapped over her mouth, causing her to slip into unconscious.  
Leon's hands curled into two firm fists as he charged toward the men, hoping he could reach the girl before she was placed into the black van. With adrenaline racing through his entire body, he swung his fist. Unfortunately, his confidence quickly crumbled when the man was able to easily dodge his punch. Within an instant, the teenager found himself on the receiving end, grunting as he was punched in the face.

The red-head stumbled backwards, trying to regain his balance once more. But his attempts were to fail, as he ended up accidentally stumbling into the other man in black. Before he could even react to try to move away, he felt the man behind him grab firmly a hold of his arms, preventing him from running. Leon grunted in rage as he frantically tried to get out the man's grip. Though no mater how hard he pulled and jerked, he wasn't able to free himself from the man's iron grip. Suddenly he felt something hard hit him in the stomach. The nineteen year-old gasped out in pain, immediately slumping in the man's grip. With a groan, he lifted up his head to see the man that had punched him before.

"You shouldn't have gotten involved kid." the man snarled as he reared back his fist.

With that said, Leon felt nothing but immense pain as he received another punch to the face and slipped into unconsciousness.  
The man smirked in victory as he watched the teenager collapse on the ground. While it did annoy him that pain still lingered in the back of his head where the teenage boy had hit with the board, he was glad he managed to get pay back. He was about to walk away until his partner shouted for him. The man in the black suit turned around to see his partner kneeling down next to the nineteen year-old with a wallet in his hand.

"You realize who you just knocked out, it's that Leon Saisei kid." the partner stated as he tossed his companion the wallet.

The man in the black suit raised his brows in surprise as he studied Leon's ID in his wallet, now understanding how the teenager was able to hit him so hard with a wooden board.

"His batting is questionable considering he always freezes up when the ball is headed toward him, but I've heard about his pitching. Fastest pitcher on his team, would be the all-star on the team if not for that batting problem of his. Now that I think about it, he's one of the teenagers on the list." the man commented.

His eyes behind the sunglasses glanced down at the unconscious boy.

"I think he just made a search a whole lot easier. Toss him in as well. We'll take both of them to the boss." the man commanded.

His partner nodded before picking up Leon's unconscious body and placing it in the black van. Making sure they don't get caught, the men quickly climbed into their van and speed off, leaving no one aware of the events that had conspired.


	2. Chapter 2 - Meet the Ultimates

Chapter 2

Leon groaned as he blinked open his eyes, hissing a bit when he felt his head throb in pain. It took a few seconds for him to regather his bearings and take note of his surroundings. He glanced around the room he found himself in, seeing he was in a room that had been set up for someone to stay in with a poorly made sleeping bag and a few supplies composing of a tool kit and a survival knife. The red head did his best to ignore his pounding heart as he stood up from the floor. He felt extremely uneasy to wake up in a room with no one else around, especially with his last memory was getting knocked out by strange men trying to kidnap a girl.

Knowing he wouldn't get any answers by staying in the room, he made his way over to the single door. Much to Leon's relief, the door opened with ease, meaning he wasn't trapped in that single room. The moment he stepped through the doorway, his body tensed to learn he was inside an abandoned factory that looked like no one had been there for a few years. As he traversed through the empty hallways with inactive machinery, he couldn't help but find himself reminded of when he first woke up in Hope's Peak Academy. He could remember the confusion and fear that raced through his mind when he found himself in an empty classroom with no memory of how he got there.

 _"Well, at least at the time I didn't remember. Now I recall it was that damn Junko's fault. She caused everything; the Tragedy, erasing two years of our memory, and ultimately creating the Killing Game where I..."_ he thought to himself bitterly.

The red-head's fists clenched with a slight pang of anger and guilt in his heart; he did not like to think back to his actions in the Killing Game, especially with his memories of the two years prior to the event restored. Pushing away his haunting thoughts, his eyes glanced up toward the wall to see a slightly faded arrow with the words "Exit" painted on it. Hoping that he wasn't truly trapped in the abandoned factory, he quickly raced down the hallway. Within a few seconds he had reached a dirty and barely used door. No second thoughts crossed the teen's mind as he pushed open the door.

But his hope was shattered when he saw that instead of an escape he was seeking, he was greeted with the sight of fourteen teenagers, all around his age, standing before a giant set of double metal doors. Some of the teenagers were trying to push open the door or even tried pulling on the handles, but no matter what they did, the doors were sealed tight with the help of a giant computer lock.

A teenager with spiky black hair held up with a white sweatband, grunted as he continuously shoved his muscled body against the locked doors. His face was nearly red from the strain as his black shoes scrapped the ground. His white muscle shirt and black shorts were wet slightly from sweat, indicating the teen had been trying to push open the door for quite sometime. Finally he pushed himself away from the door, taking in deep breaths of exhaustion as he adjusted the black jacket tied around his waist.

"It's no use, I think I've been at that thing for about an hour or so now. If it ain't going to open now, then it's not going to open any time soon." he panted with his hands resting on his knees.

"That can't be, you're the strongest one among us, Seiichi! If you can't open it, then we are really trapped in here!" a female voice shouted.

 **Seiichi Hyousuke - Ultimate Wrestler**

Leon turned toward the direction where the voice came from to see a teenage girl.  
A frown was painted on her face as she nervously twirled her finger in her short blue hair. She wore a simple school uniform with a short-sleeved green blouse, a dark blue tie and skirt, black shoes, and blue socks with tanukis on them. The girl was pratically trembling in fear; she didn't want to be trapped within an abandoned factory with her parents having no idea of where she is.

"May I remind you, Kiyoshi, I tried to open the door too. You just need to admit it, whoever brought us here made sure we have no way of leaving anytime soon." a stern female voice stated.

 **Kiyoshi Etsuko - Ultimate Cartoonist**

Leon spun around to see a teenage girl with an athletic-build leaning against the wall with her arms firmly folded across her chest.  
Her shoulder length black hair nearly covered her narrowed eyes. Her white blouse of her school uniform was unbuttoned, revealing the black tank top, and her red scarf was tied around her left wrist. She showed no sign of having a skirt to accompany her school uniform, instead she wore brown shorts. Her purple eyes sharply glanced at Leon when she took note of him, prompting him to flinch and accidentally bump into someone next to him.

"Oh don't be like that, Hideyo. You honestly terrify everyone with that glare of yours. It's pretty obvious that this poor guy is stuck in the same situation we are in." the red-head heard someone next to him state in a cheerful and bubbly voice.

 **Hideyo Rei - Ultimate Stunt Actress**

Curious of who he bumped into, Leon turned to see a teenage girl next to him.  
The girl flashed him a friendly and kind smile; her long blonde curls practically bouncing with the bop of her head. She wore a pale-blue blouse with a white vest, a pink skirt, tie, and socks, with an assortment of small blue bows on her school outfit.  
Leon's breath hitched slightly upon her the girl's happy giggle; he almost found it contagious from listening to it. He couldn't understand how she could be so happy despite the situation she was in. In a way, the girl's attitude deeply reminded him of Sayaka's happy and upbeat nature.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Jin Kaoru!" she happily greeted with a small hum.

 **Jin Kaoru - Ultimate Fashion Designer**

"Jin's right, Hideyo. It would not be wise to make enemies out of each other while we're all trapped in here." a deep male voice said.

Near a barred up window was a teenage boy with slicked back black hair. He wore black pants with white stripes on the sides, large brown boots, and a white undershirt. He had a white jacket with racing stripes on the sides resting atop of his shoulders. The teenager carried a sense of seriousness and calm around him, showing no signs of be frightened nor disturbed of being trapped in an unknown location. He turned his head to see another teenage boy desperately pulling at the bars that blocked off the one of the windows. He sighed before tapping his brown gloved hand against the teen's shoulder.

"Come on, Isas! If you leave me alone, I think I can finally pull out these bars and break us all out of here! Like to hell am I going to miss out on my jam session!" the teen pulling on the bars grunted.

 **Isas Ken - Ultimate Race Car Driver**

"Even if you managed to get the bars loose, you failed to notice the window has been bolted close with a giant slab of metal behind the bars." Isas stated in a stern.

The teen pulling on the bars paused at his actions, now having taken notice of the metal slab. With a grumble of annoyance, he released the bars and ran his hand through his bright orange mullet to readjust it. His attire consisted of a black rocker's jacket, a dark red shirt, a black choker, and dark blue jeans. His annoyance quickly vanished as he formed a snarky smirk on his face, raising one of his pierced brows with his hand firmly placed on hips. Without any hint of shame or embarrassment, he proudly proclaimed he had known that there was a metal slab and was only testing the race car driver's observation skills.

"Oh yes, I'm quite sure you were fully aware, Kazuo. Which is why you kept pulling at the bars even after Isas told you multiple times to stop." a female voice stated in a sarcastic tone.

 **Kazuo Tatsuo - Ultimate Guitarist**

Kazuo let out an audible snarl as he glared at a teenage girl around his age.  
She carried an air of superiority and professionalism both with her expression and attire. Her long dark-purple hair was held back with a barrette, her ruby eyes slightly cold and calculating as she took her hand and smoothed the wrinkles out of her dark blue jacket and skirt. The rest of her attire was a white blouse with a black tie, leggings, and heels. She seemed rather annoyed with the guitarist's snarky attitude, but for the most part was very good about concealing emotions.

"Now's not the time to make sarcastic comments, Hiroko. The question we should be asking ourselves is why we have all been brought here." a male voice stated.

 **Hiroko Chikako - Ultimate Speech Debater**

Hiroko turned toward young teenage who wore a white lab coat with white sleeves, brown pants, a red button-up shirt with a black tie, and goggles pushing back his sandy-blonde hair. She knew that everyone was just as confused and angry as her. The last thing they remembered before waking up in their rooms was strange men in black suits getting a hold of them, and drugging them with chloroform as they were tossed into a black van. Anyone in such a situation would be very tense and fully deserve an answer. Very slowly a small smile graced her lips, surprising everyone that she was even capable of smiling.

"Of course, right you are, Hideaki. Once again you impress me." she commented in a softer tone, a jarring difference from her previous one.

 **Hideaki Masato - Ultimate Forensicist**

Hideaki smiled bashfully whilst rubbing the back of his neck.  
Leon was surprised by the familiarity the two teens shared for two people that supposedly had just met each other. It made him wonder if they were already friends or if they simply had an encounter in the past. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of panting. When he glanced toward the sound of the noise, he was surprised to see a teenage boy running in circles.

The boy kept panting as he ran in constant circles with a panicked expression on his face. His shaggy ginger hair was blown back from his running along with his red and white track jacket. Despite the fact his panting got louder, he kept running, showing remarkable speed for some his age. Suddenly, without warning, he felt something hit his leg, causing him to trip and crash to the floor. With a pained groan, he pushed himself onto his knees, wiping the dirt off of his white shirt and red track pants. Tilting his head back, he managed to see a teenage girl glaring at him.

"Naoko, can you stop running around like that?!" the girl exclaimed, "Just watching you is making me more nervous than I should be!"

 **Naoko Yukio - Ultimate Sprint Runner**

The girl had long sandy-blonde hair tied into a pony tail. Small round glasses sat on the bridge of her nose as she tapped her black shoes that had loose lases. She wore a white school uniform with black leggings, a yellow scarf and skirt, but over it she wore a black jacket that had an anime with superhero robots on the back.  
Leon furrowed his brows together as he stared at the girl; she reminded him of someone but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Suddenly it dawned on him when the girl decided to quote one of the lines from her favorite character in "Super Changing Fighting Robozoids" as an example for why they should stay calm. He groaned while slapping his hand against his head.

 _"Oh please, not another person like Hifumi. Not another obsessed fan."_ he pleaded to himself, hoping that the fangirl wouldn't get on his nerves too much.

"Isamu, perhaps not the time for quotes from your favorite robot hero, This is a serious situation we're all stuck in." a male voice stated.

 **Isamu Hama - Ultimate Robotics Expert**

Standing near the group of teens was a teenager that looked surprisingly older than his actual age. He had long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, a small goatee, and oval shaped glasses. He wore a long doctor's coat, with white pants, a brown shirt, and black shoes. Given with his surprisingly older appearance came with the sense of a wise man with much knowledge. He shook his head with a sigh when he saw Isamu huffed angrily at his comment. In the short time he has come to know her, he can tell that she dearly loves expressing her love for all things robot related. But he knew there was a place and time, and where they currently were was certainly not the time.

"Thank you, Dr. Yoshio. Can't have that imbecile's insane ramblings interrupt my thoughts. Fifteen people locked away in a place they don't know, that'll make a great idea for a film!" an arrogant voice stated.

 **Hisoka Yoshio - Ultimate Doctor**

Everyone directed their attention toward the teenager who made such an insulting comment. He was a teenage boy dressed in green and brown director clothes. He held his hands in front of his face in a square formation, trying to get an idea for camera angles. Having got an idea of what he wanted, he grinned before brushing back his wavy brown hair and his tan scarf. But once he turned toward his companions, he was stunned to be greeted with a swarm of glares staring directly toward him. He didn't understand why everyone was angry at him; he believed he was perfectly justified on commenting on the fangirl's obsessive nature with robots.

"Well I don't see why everyone's mad at me. I'm simply stating what everyone else was obviously thinking. Anyone would want to off themselves with how she drones on about such ridiculousness." he replied with the shrug of his shoulders.

Upon hearing his comment, Isamu frowned as she was fighting back some sobs. To hear that someone despised her love for robots so much that they would claim someone would rather commit suicide than listen to her was disturbing. She barely acknowledged Isas as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close in an attempt to comfort her."

"That isn't the point. Just because you don't share her same interests doesn't give you the right to say such a disgusting and hateful thing, Toshiro." a female voice scolded.

 **Toshiro Riichi - Ultimate Director**

The girl that had yelled at him was a teenager with silver hair pulled up into a messy bun and protective goggles in front of her icy-blue eyes. She wore light-green blouse with the sleeves rolled up, and black skirt and boots. Her school uniform was mostly covered up by a white apron firmly tied around her waist and neck. Her fingers strangely enough were covered with thin layers of dried clay.  
Leon at first was confused why the girl looked like she had been in the middle of working with clay without even considering to clean up or even make herself look decent. But he quickly brushed that thought aside when he remembered, they all had been taken without warning, meaning she most likely in the middle of a project when she was kidnapped.

"It may be hateful, but it's the truth. For someone that hates when people don't see the obvious, I'm quite surprised you failed to see it yourself, Shizko." Toshiro replied with a disgusted sneer.

 **Shizko Yoko - Ultimate Sculptor**

Leon remained silent as he glanced around at the thirteen teens that all occupied the room with him. Memories of his time in the Killing Game raced through his mind, recalling how he encountered all the people he would soon befriend and ultimately betray within a few days. He inhaled deeply through his nose while closing his eyes, remembering each of their smiles as he greeted them happily, only for those faces to be replaced with horror and Sayaka's face of lifelessness. It unnerved him to find himself in a similar scenario that led to him making a horrible decision and costing him his life. He couldn't prevent his body trembling a bit as the images of the execution quickly flashed through his mind.

Quickly shaking his head, wanting to banish such despair inducing thoughts from his mind, he reopened his eyes to be greeted with a surprise. Standing behind the group of people, staring at the large locked door was the light-brown haired girl he tried to save. Now that she currently wasn't in a struggle, he was able to easily examine her appearance. Her long hair was held back with a black headband and she had bright green eyes. She wore grey jacket with a large music symbol that adorned the collar, a green blouse, a grey skirt, and long green socks with black shoes.

The girl studied the door for a few seconds more before turning and spotting Leon. She gasped as she slapped one of her hands over her mouth; her eyes were wide in both shock and guilt. Without any hesitation, she quickly ran over to him. She clasped her hands together out of nervous as she silently stared at the red-head, unable to come up with the words to say.

Finally, after a few seconds, she uttered "I can't believe they got you too. I feel like this is my fault. If I had been able to fight off those men, then I might have not have gotten you accidentally kidnapped too."

Leon noticed how deeply disturbed the girl was by his presence; he imagined anyone in her shoes would be upset had they accidentally put someone in danger. He frowned silently as he watched her head tilt down whilst biting her lip. Wanting to at least cheer her up a bit, despite the situation they where in, he gave her a friendly smile with a small laugh.

"Don't worry about it. You needed help and it wouldn't sit well with me if I stood back and watched. I'm just glad those guys didn't hurt you or anything because seeing them trying to throw you into a van didn't quite give off good signals." he insured her.

The light-brown-headed girl lifted up her head; her green eyes making contact with Leon's pale-blue eyes once more. Seeing him give her a friendly smile encouraged her to return a similar one. She still felt incredibly guilty for getting him stuck in abandoned factory with no signs of anyone knowing they're there in the first place, but she was glad that he showed concern for her state and that he hadn't shown any sign of harm from the men that kidnapped him.

"Thanks, I suppose that does help me feel better." she replied in a grateful tone, "I'm Mineko Akasuki by the way, what would your name be?"

 **Mineko Akasuki - Ultimate Music Composer**

The red-headed teenager nearly flinched from the Mineko's voice. The way she talked in a sweet and caring voice almost made her sound exactly like Sayaka Maizono, a name that still carried many dark memories and regrets. He only hoped that perhaps the tone was coincidental and the similarities between her and the girl he ended up murdering would end there.

Pushing away his thoughts and hiding away any signs of regret or remorse, he finally replied back "Well nice to meet you, given the current circumstances. The name's Leon Saisei."

 **Leon Saisei - Ultimate Baseball Star**

Though before anyone could say anything else, the loud screeching of an intercom being turned on filled the air. Everyone yelled out both in discomfort and pain, especially Mineko, prompting them to slap their hands over their ears. The sound lingered for a few moments before finally fading away to the sound of someone tapping on a microphone.

"Hello, hello? You chumps able to hear me? You better because I'll only be saying this once!" a squeaky yet snarky voice yelled on the intercoms.

Leon's heart nearly stopped and his face turned a sickly shade of pale the moment he heard that voice. He could remember clearly its twisted and sadistic laughter as he pleaded for his life; a laugh that even manages to creep into his nightmares. He truly hoped that he was imagining things, that the voice he was hearing was not who he thinks it belonged to. If was truly that person, Leon was unsure how to cope with that fact. He already felt all the events he had experienced since he woke up in that room were far too similar to the ones that led up to his death.

"So listen up, I need all of you to head to the main factory room. You'll find the directions on the map which you can pull up on the digital devices I had placed in your pockets. It can also show you profiles on your fellow participants and announcements. It can do anything... except call the police! Puhuhu! Well see you all there!" the voice on the intercom said before finally shutting off the intercom.

Unsure what else to do, everyone dug into their different pockets to indeed find a small black tablet for each of them had been placed in them. Just like the voice claimed, the tablet showed profiles on everyone that included their age, gender, and ultimate status, and a map showing directions to the main factory. Everyone but Leon was quite curious to why their captors had collected them all in the first place and wanted answers. Seeing as meeting their mysterious voice as the only clue behind the reason why they had been gathered, the teens began leaving the room to head for the main factory room.

Leon was the only one to linger behind. His body was practically shaking in fear as he took in ragged breathes. He didn't want to go meet the mysterious voice and confirm his fears to who their identity was. Unfortunately he saw he had little choice in the matter. He was trapped in an abandoned building with fourteen other people with no signs of escape of any kind. Knowing he couldn't delay the inevitable, the red-head took in a deep breath to gather his nerves before catching up with the others, joining them in their trek toward the main factory room.


	3. Chapter 3 - Getting Comfortable

Chapter 3

"So do you think the guy behind all this is one of those creepy bad guys that are always petting cats?" Naoko casually asked as he and the rest of the group made their way to the main factory room.

They all wanted answers for the reasoning behind their kidnapping and hoped by meeting with the voice they heard on the intercom, they would get the answers they were seeking.

"You idiot, that's only in films. I should know, I am an aspiring director after all." Toshiro replied in an annoyed tone.

Upon hearing this response, practically everyone groaned, having already gotten tired of the arrogance that always seemed to drip off of each word that came out of the teen's mouth.  
Whilst everyone was still discussing the possibilities of who their captor was, Leon silently trailed behind the group. He couldn't get the sound of that familiar laughter out of his mind, making him dread more and more the unveiling of the captor's identity. His pale-blue eyes glanced up just in time to see Toshiro yelling angrily at Hideyo; he guessed the stunt actress made a comment toward the arrogant teen, but didn't know what it was due to the lack of paying attention.

Finally it wasn't long till the group finally reached the double doors leading into the main factory room. Leon swallowed hard, trying to hide any signs of his body about ready to tremble in fear. Before he died, the first Killing Game had left him terrified of the possibility of everything and everyone taking his life. He was unsure how he could cope with that feeling a second time, especially when his soul was at the risk of being lost forever upon death.

The group of teens muttered among themselves as they entered a large room with deactivated machinery. Nothing in the room seemed new except for a small wooden podium with a black and white symbol with a red mark on it.  
While the other teens were confused about the lack of presence of the mysterious voice, Leon clenched his teeth as his hands shook slightly. The others didn't understand the meaning of the symbol, but he did. He recognized the exact same symbol from the one he saw in the gym at Hope's Peak Academy.

Suddenly, without warning, the snarky and squeaky laughter from the intercom filled the room. Kiyoshi yelped in surprise when out from the podium, leap up a black and white bear with an ominous red eye.

"Glad to see you all got my message and gathered here. Honestly, this would be a waste if none of you knew exactly why you've all been brought here." the bear laughed in amusement.

"Gah! It's one of those freaky pizzeria reject animatronics!" Naoko screamed in panic.

"Pizzeria animatronic? Hey bud, you insult me with such a comparison." the bear sneered with the wave of his paw, "The name's Monokuma and none of you forget that, because I sure won't let you! Puhuhu!"

Leon felt like his entire world had come to a screeching halt as he stared speechlessly at the small bear. His fears had been confirmed; their captor had been the demented robot bear that forced him and his classmates to participate in the killing game. The red-head could feel his heart rapidly pounding as his body remained in a frozen and shocked state.

"Alright then, Monokuma, exactly why did you have the fifteen of us kidnapped and brought to a factory with no signs of escape?" Hiroko asked with her ruby eyes narrowed slightly.

"Well, the game wouldn't be fun if any of you could leave here at anytime." Monokuma replied.

Everyone but Leon was confused by the bear's statement. But before anyone could ask another question, they had received their answer to the purpose of their gathering and the game. Within an instant, the faces of confusion and curiosity immediately vanished upon hearing that they had been selected to play in a Killing Game. While the fourteen teens were too young to remember any of the Killing Games, they had heard tales from their parents. The thought of a game centered around being trapped in an inescapable prison with the only way out was to murder one of the other participants and get away with it was horrifying and disturbing to the group.

"Oh god, I don't want to die! Please no!" Kiyoshi cried out in fear.

"None of you are going to come after me right? Because that would be whack bro!" Kazuo complained with his arms crossed, doing his best to hide the fear he truly felt.

"He... he can't be serious right? We're not being forced to kill each other... right guys?" Seiichi tried to insure his companions, but his trembling stutters between his words betrayed him.

The red-head was shocked by the scene he was witnessing. Only seconds ago he saw his companions show differing responses and reactions to their situation; now they were all feeling the same thing and that was despair. He inhaled deeply with his eyes closed, knowing everyone had to be as terrified as he was when during the first Killing Game. He was still deeply terrified of being trapped in yet another Killing Game, but he understood that someone had to be the calm and level-headed one. If all of them were to fall into despair, then Monokuma will have truly won.

With a snicker and a laugh, the black and white bear bid the participants farewell. But before he left the room, he suggested they check their rooms and the other facilities made available for them during their stay.  
Leon couldn't help but shudder a bit as the bear's laughter rang in his ears as he left the room. With Monokuma finally gone, the red-head released a long breath that he hadn't even been aware he was holding.

"Okay, so we've been trapped here by a psychotic bear that eagerly awaits one of us committing the first murder. Any ideas on how we should handle this situation?" Hideyo asked as she tried to keep her face as emotionless as possible.

Seeing he was the only one with any kind of experience with Killing Games, Leon sighed before answering "For now we stay calm. That demented bear wants us to kill and he's trying to get us scared enough to do it. We need to try to prevent that for as long as possible. So everyone is to report exactly what they witness, gather for breakfast as a roll call of sorts, and no one is to leave their rooms at night."

Upon finishing his sentence, the teen found himself greeted with shocked stares.

"That's surprisingly a well organized plan. You actually came up with that all by yourself, just now?" Isas commented, "If I didn't know any better, I would say you've been in one of these Killing Games before. Of course we all know that isn't the case."

Leon grinned nervously while rubbing his neck. It was true he already had been in a Killing Game, but he knew no one would believe him if he told them that he died and with the help of a ghost was reborn. Seeing there was nothing else to do, everyone decided to at least to get familiar with their new surroundings. Figuring that Monokuma would have a way to keep watch on everything that happens in the factory, Leon decided to check his room for any cameras. It only took him a few minutes to follow the map and relocate his room.

Just as he was about to lay his hand on the doorknob, the door suddenly swung open to reveal Monokuma himself. The teen yelled both out of surprise and fear, accidentally smashing his back against the wall. His eyes shook in panic as he dared not to take his eyes off the psychotic bear, paranoid that even blinking would cost him his life.

Upon seeing this, Monokuma let out a snort of laughter as he asked "I honestly scared you that badly? Ah man, not even the others get as scared as you! What a wimp! You act as if I murdered a family member or something! Puhuhu!"

The nineteen year-old remained silent from the bear's comment. Over the years he heard about how Junko did the talking for the first Monokuma in the Killing Game he participated in. He understood it was impossible for the Monokuma before him to be controlled by the same demented teen due to her being long dead, but it still unnerved him that the bear was able to make a comment that nearly lined up with the reason why the sight of him terrified him so much. Deciding to gather up his fears, he angrily demanded the reason for why the bear was in his room.

Monokuma couldn't help but laugh at this response, prompting him to open his mouth wide and reveal the razor sharp teeth on the left side of his mouth.

"Ah, must have struck a nerve there. Hilarious!" the bear snickered with his eyes narrowed in glee, "If you are so eager to know why I was in your room, I'll tell you. Since you all are obviously going to stay in here for a long time, I had items specially ordered to be placed in your rooms. The items match up with your interest and talents. Don't want anyone to be miserable while staying here. It's much more fun to watch if they're driven to despair while in a comfortable state."

The words spilling forth from the bear's mouth disgusted and disturbed Leon just as much as his last encounter with him. Wanting to see if Monokuma was telling the truth, he cautiously poked his head through the door though he felt uneasy having to stand next to the robotic bear. Sure enough, his room had been altered from the state it was in when he woke up in it. Now the room was littered with an assortment of baseball equipment much to his annoyance. He leaned back and narrowed his pale-blue eyes at the robotic bear.

"So what do you think, did I nail your likes or what?" the bear asked in a smug tone.

The red-head couldn't prevent the audible snarl escaping his mouth as he grumbled in reply "I hate baseball."

For a moment, Monokuma looked stunned, almost as if he wasn't expecting that answer. But the expression quickly disappeared as the bear waved his hand to feign disinterest.

"Not sure if you're serious or you're just saying that because you and your friends are still upset about being here. Well whatever, it's what you get and it's not going to be changed. I've done my work and have no reason to stick around. See ya later, chump!" the bear stated with a hint of annoyance in his words.

Leon stepped back as he watched the robotic bear walk past him and down the hallway. He still found himself unnerved by Monokuma's presence, but found it odd the way the bear spoke. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something about the tones and phrases seemed off. The red-head grunted as he rubbed his fingers against the temple of his forehead, preferring his thoughts do not focus on Monokuma whenever he wasn't around. Suddenly his thoughts were shattered by the sound of a loud scream.

Panic instantly darted through the teenager as he immediately ran down the hall, fearing the worst. It didn't take him long to reach where the scream had come from. Sitting in the floor with her door open was Isamu surrounded by an assortment of robotic parts.  
The teenage girl let out shrieks of joy as she grabbed any robot part available to her and worked on assembling a robot at feverish speeds. She only paused when she sensed that someone was watching her. Without a word, she turned around to see an annoyed Leon glaring at her.

"Hi Leon, what brings you to visit my room?" she asked with a grin.

Leon's brows lowered in frustration, prompting the nineteen-year old to frown in response.

"You know, you really shouldn't scream like that unless you're in trouble." the red-head stated, voicing his frustration, "We're in the middle of a Killing Game so hearing you scream like that does not give off good implications. I thought someone had tried to or even succeeded in murdering you!"

Isamu's eyes glanced guiltily at the ground as she whispered out an apology. She hadn't meant to scare anyone with her scream; she was just so happy that Monokuma had left her the materials to tinker with and create robots.

With a sigh, she finally said in a disheartened tone "I didn't mean to scream like that. It's just, before this all happened I would tinker with robot parts whenever I felt depressed or scared. I kind of suffer from bad anxiety problems and working on robots actually helps me stay calm. When I learned that we were all trapped in this Killing Game, I felt scared. I was worried I wouldn't even be able to keep myself sane enough in this madness. But then I saw what Monokuma left for me, it was the very thing I thought I had lost. I just was so relieved that I couldn't help but scream in joy. At least now I can attempt to stay calm while being trapped in this place."

Very slowly, Leon's anger faded from his face. He hadn't realized how much robots meant to Isamu. Now he understood why she happily quoted her robot heroes, it was her way of staying calm. Feeling guilty for immediately snapping at the girl, he sat down in the floor next to her and picked up one of the robot pieces.

"So before I came in, what were you trying to build exactly?" he asked.

At that moment, the girl gasped in happiness, her aqua colored eyes practically sparkling in excitement. Without any hesitation, she poured all her love and joy into explaining how she was recreating her favorite character from "Super Changing Fighting Robozoids" named Sting Blitz.  
Leon barely understood half of the names nor stories the girl excitedly told him about, but he listened the best as he could with the occasionally nod of his head. He had no interest in the anime Isamu seemed to love, but was willing to listen if it meant preventing her from falling into despair.

Unfortunately, Isamu's explanation was interrupted by yet another yell. Curious at who was yelling, the two teens poked their heads out the doorway to see none other than Kazuo.  
The orange-haired teen laughed as he spun a bright red guitar around in his hands.

"Alright, I can still rock out to some jams! Didn't know that bear would leave me such a beaut!" the teen proclaimed as he admired the guitar, "Maybe I will have to talk to the black and white creep about getting it replaced. My jam sessions are so intense, I always smash my guitar on the floor. Though that ends up breaking it and my band members have to get me a new one. What can I say, I have a strong swing."

"Good, maybe you can use that swing to knock yourself out and spare us of your gloating." Shizko commented upon passing the guitarist, making her way to her own room.

"You're just jealous of my sweet skills! But don't worry babe, I'll totally accept an apology. Maybe I'll even toss in one of my sweet guitar solos." the orange-headed teen remarked with a wink.

Upon hearing this, the sculptor rolled her eyes with an annoyed huff. She wasn't impressed with the teenage boy's attempt at flirting; if anything it came off more annoying than attractive to her. Believing it better to simply ignore him, she continued down the hallway and entered her room, slamming the door close behind her.  
Kazuo stared in bewilderment; he never had a girl ignore his flirty remarks before. This left him deeply confused as to the reason why.

"Okay no girl can resist me when I give them flirty comments, Shizko has to be gay." he stated.

"Actually, no. Shizko isn't interested in any kind of relationship." a female voice spoke up, prompting Kazou to yelp in surprise.

He immediately spun around to see Kiyoshi smiling with her hands intertwined behind her back.

"I actually talked with her a bit." she explained in a soft voice, "Shizko, is the kind of person that really isn't interested in getting in a relationship nor settling down. She prefers to dedicate her time to making sculptures. She showed me some pictures of her work, she's actually really good at it."

"And she told you all this today?" Kazuo asked with a raised brow.

Kiyoshi nodded her head in response. It surprised her how friendly the sculptor was when she seemed to be a girl that mostly kept to herself. She wasn't even expecting the teenage girl to respond back when she decided to greet her earlier that day. It was a fact she was relieved by, given that they would all be stuck in the abandoned factory for a while.  
Leon rolled his eyes as he shook his head, finding Kazou's enthusiam for the rock and roll persona to be a little ridiculous. He remembered how before he died, he tried everything in his power to embrace that persona, trying to become popular in the eyes of women.

 _"Sad part is that he's probably good at it, unlike me. Ugh... great, now I feel a bit jealous of him."_ the red-head thought to himself.

Suddenly he was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of happy humming. He turned his head to see Jin making her way down the hallway with a hop in her step. His eyes widened in shock at how happy the girl seemed to be. Moments ago she was filled with despair when Monokuma revealed what situation she was now apart of, but now she was practically brimming with happiness as if she was never sad in the first place. He saw she was about to pass by him until her blue eyes glanced at him and she gasped.

With her hands on her hips, Jin pouted slightly as she asked "Leon, why are you even wearing those pants? They have holes in them."

At first the red-head was confused by the girl's question until it dawned on him that she was referring to the large holes around his knees.

"Oh those, the fabric around my knees got torn when I was practicing some baseball throws and catches with some friends. Don't worry about it, I prefer them like this anyway." he explained.

Jin continued to pout with her brows lowered; she was not willing to accept that explanation. Without warning, she grabbed Leon by the wrist and started pulling him down the hallway. It didn't matter if he preferred the torn holes, she believed she could at least make it look more decent and prevent anymore rips around the hole.  
Leon was stunned as he was pulled down the hall, toward the fashion designer's room. He tried to object or give the girl any reason as to why he didn't need a patch job, but Jin was having none of it.

"You shouldn't be so worried you know," she started in a sweet tone, "I can still do the patch job with your pants on. So you don't have to worry about that."

In that instant, Leon's face turned just as red as his hair. Her statement was nowhere close to the reason he didn't want his pants worked on, but now he found himself flustered from the girl's comment. Without another word, he was pulled into the girl's room. Once inside, his mouth opened slightly upon seeing the room decorated with different designs for clothing, a sewing kit, and some fabrics.

"Monokuma wasn't kidding when he said he provided items that connected to everyone's interests and talents." he muttered as he sat down in a chair.

"Yeah, I was just as surprised when I returned to my room." Jin replied as she picked up her sewing kit, "I guess it's kind of nice of him to provide us these things, even though he still wants us to kill each other."

A frown flashed across the blonde-headed girl's face for a brief moment before she quickly shook her head. Without a word, she threaded the needle and began to sew around the hole on the left pant leg. Her eyes were full of focus as she made sure each stitch was perfect and provided enough support to prevent anymore tearing.  
Leon couldn't help but watch in awe. It impressed him how skillful the girl was with her sewing.

Wanting to pass the time by, he asked "So exactly what convinced you that you wanted to be a fashion designer in the first place?"

With her eyes still focused on her sewing, she answered "It's simple, I want to make people happy. When I was younger, I lost my dad. My mom was so depressed, there were even times that she refused to eat. She was in so much despair that sometimes I feared that she considered taking her own life."

She paused her sewing when she noticed her hands trembled a bit, not wanting her shaky hands to accidentally prick Leon's knee. Her blue eyes seemed to darken as she recalled her mother's depression.

"I couldn't stand to see my mother that way; I wanted to do something, anything, to insure my mother would smile again." she continued on, her voice taking on a somber tone, "So one day I decided I would buy her a scarf. There was a really pretty one that dad always wanted to buy for her. I tried to buy it myself, but I didn't quite have the money for it. After that plan failed, I decided I would recreate the scarf. It took me days, enduring through the pain of many accidental needle pricks, but I had finally finished it. The scarf was more on the crude side due to my lack of experience at the time, but I still presented her the scarf with a smile."

Jin could feel some tears brimming at the corner of her eyes. She laughed slightly as she promptly wiped her tears away, not wanting to turn into a sobbing wreck in front of her new friend.

"Mother loved my gift and I finally saw her smile again. It was so relieving to see her finally overcome despair. So I decided from that moment on I wanted to become a fashion designer. Always greeting people with a smile as I present them clothes that hopefully will bring them happiness. It's why I choose to be so happy during times like these, because if I fall into despair, then I won't be able to help those trapped within despair with me." she finished with a smile.

Leon was left speechless by the teenage girl's story. The fact she was wanting to be happy just to give others hope stunned him. She seemed near identical to Sayaka before she ended up falling into despair herself. He sighed as his fingers curled slightly.  
Jin easily noticed the teenager's action and frowned in concern, worried that her story might have unintentionally disturbed him.

Seeking an explanation, she asked "Leon, are you okay?"

The red-head jolted slightly, startled from the silence being broken before answering "No it's just that you remind me of someone I once knew. She tried to share your philosophy, even after she had to go through such lengths to fulfill her dreams. I think it's something I admire about the both of you."

Upon hearing this, the fashion designer furrowed her brows together and asked confusingly "Tried to? Did something happen to her?"

Before Leon could even reply, the intercom turned on with Monokuma informing everyone to gather in the Business Room. A small beeping filled the air, prompting the teenage boy to pull his digital device out of his pocket. He saw the device had switched over to the map of the factory and there was a flashing red light indicating where the Business Room was located.  
Knowing they needed to set off, Jin quickly finished up her patch job on Leon's pant leg.

"Well at least I got one pant leg done. Maybe you can stop by my room tomorrow and I'll get to work on the other pant leg." she suggested with a smile.

Leon glanced down to see there was still a hole, but now it looked more stylized with a series of stitching, looking similar to the torn jeans often found in a clothing store. He couldn't help but admit that he preferred Jin's redesign of the holes over the ones he accidentally made. He lifted up his head to see the girl with a bright smile, sticking with the tradition she created herself.

With a smile in return, Leon finally said "You did a pretty good job. You know, I think I will take you up on that offer."

Without another word, the two left the room and walked down the hallway together. Neither shared a single word, but simply chose to exchange smiles.


	4. Chapter 4 - The First Motive

Chapter 4

None of the fifteen participants didn't utter a single word as they traversed the poorly lit hallways of the abandoned factory. Not a single one of the teens were eager to encounter Monokuma once more.  
Leon took in deep yet silent breaths in an attempt to stay clam, allowing his pale-blue eyes to wonder. He found himself studying nearly every crack, stain, and cob web that were scattered about the hallway. He wasn't interested in studying the layout of the hallway, but rather wanted to keep his mind off of the dread of meeting with the demented bear.

His thoughts drifted toward Kazuo upon hearing his annoyed groans. He could tell the orange-headed teen wasn't too thrilled that he had to attend a mandatory meeting instead of being allowed to play with his guitar. In his eyes, the nineteen year-old was practically a walking stereotype of the rock and roll star; a stereotype the teen seemed completely enamored with. Leon couldn't understand why Kazuo would be proud that he nearly matched the mental image of guitarist, risking people seeing him as more of an annoyance. Much how he recalled being seen by some of his friends in Hope Peak's High, back when he still proudly boasted about wishing to become a musician.

Wanting to keep his thoughts off of Monokuma for a while longer, Leon spoke up "So Kazuo, what's with the rocker attitude anyway? I understand you're the Ultimate Guitarist, but is your personality connected to that talent in any way or form?"

Kazuo seemed stunned by the red-head's question before promptly letting out a snicker as he flipped back his mullet.

"Of course the personality is connected. Geez dude, it's like you have no idea what guitarists are like." the teenager commented with a smirk, "The personality is the most important aspect of a guitarist!"

"That doesn't make sense. Logically, the most important aspect of a guitarist is their skill." Hiroko countered with her ruby eyes narrowed, "If the guitarist isn't good at playing their respective instrument in the first place, they would fail to gain any kind of respect in the music industry."

Kazuo glared purple-headed girl with a sneer. He already despised how she and Shizko seemed to criticize his actions without even bothering to understand him. Deciding to brush aside the speech debater's comment, his grin quickly reformed on his face. His brown eyes seemed to practically shine with pride and excitement as he went into detail about why he considered the personality to be the most important aspect of a guitarist.

"While Ms. Know It All here is right about a guitarist needs skill to succeed, that skill is nothing without a drive." he explained in an enthusiastic manner, "See without a drive to do anything, you have nothing to really get you excited about the thing you love to do. That's why I pour my everything into the rock and roll persona. If I had never embraced that part of myself, I wouldn't have the drive to do my best when it comes to playing the guitar."

Leon didn't say a word as he thought about the teen's words. He could understand Kazuo's logic to give himself a drive, but here wasn't sure that would count as a reason to act like his entire existence solely revolves around rock and roll. He knew that kind of attitude comes off quite annoying to some others, something he learned during in his previous life. A bitter smile flashed across his face for a second when he recalled how Makoto seemed puzzled why a baseball player was trying his best to emulate a musician.

 _"Great, I'm getting that envious feeling again. What I wouldn't give to have that mindset again. He reminds me too much of myself that it isn't even funny."_ he thought to himself.

Before the red-head could even realize it, the group of teens had finally reached the entrance of the Business Room. Anxiety and nervousness filled all of them, terrified at what twisted plan Monokuma could have store for them. Knowing they couldn't delay the inevitable, the group open the door, all slowly entering the room. Inside they managed to see Monokuma himself sitting behind a large wooden desk.  
The bear was casually leaning on his arm while sitting in a large black chair; his red eye glowing with malice and excitement.

"Glad to see you losers made it. After all, if anyone tried to skip out, you would have been killed for breaking the rules." Monokuma snickered gleefully, "I do want to see you all survive. After all, if you die due to rule breaking, it would make this game too boring. Like I said, it's more fun to watch all of you try to kill each other."

Kiyoshi whimpered in fear from the bear's words. She was still deeply terrified of dying in the factory with no one on the outside being aware of this fact. Without even thinking, she clung onto the nearest hand which happened to be Shizko's.  
The sculptor flinched from the sudden contact, but didn't pull her hand away from the cartoonist's, deciding to at least provide her some comfort.

"Cut the crap and get to the reason why we've been brought here, Monokuma. You'd have to think I'm crazy to let you torment us for no reason." Isas bitterly stated.

"Oh, impatient are we? Then again you are the Ultimate Race Car Driver, I suppose you're always revved up and ready to hit the road. Puhuhu!" the bear replied in a sly tone.

Without warning, he jumped out of his chair and landed in front of the group. There seemed to be a psychotic and excited glint in his eyes as he pulled out a tablet. Within a blink of an eye, he began rapidly tapping at the screen with top speeds. Only a few seconds later, everyone's devices began beeping, indicating there was a new announcement.

"I just added a special new rule for each of you to the school rules. I'm sure each of you will find your special rule quite interesting." he chuckled while putting away his tablet.

"School rules? But this is a factory, not a school." Hideaki pointed out in a confused tone.

Upon hearing this, Monokuma grumbled in annoyance as he crossed his arms; his face turned red with rage and steam started coming out of his ears.

"I know that!" he screamed in frustration, "Schools are hard to come by these days! You know how hard it is to try get a school that isn't being used? This is the best I can work with, so just pretend this factory is a school! Now check your freaking tablets already!"

Leon raised a brow at Monokuma's outburst. He never recalled the Monokuma from his previous life to get so easily angry, especially when questioned why the Killing Game wasn't being held in a school. Before that point, Monokuma acted near identical to how Junko portrayed him, but now he sounded nothing like Junko. Unfortunately, the nineteen year-old wasn't able to finish his thought process when he heard a yelp of fear. His head quickly turned to see Isamu pale and trembling as her fingers tightly clenched the tablet.

Worried about what the demented bear had written for a new rule, he pulled out his tablet and pulled up the rules tab. At that instant, his pale-blue eyes widened in shock when he saw the bottom of the list was a rule that forbid him from doing anything related to baseball.

"What the heck! You gave me a guitar and everything! Now you're telling me I can't use them!" Kazuo yelled in anger.

Monokuma couldn't help but laugh with his paws pressed firmly to his mouth, finding it amusing to be greeted with faces of shock, anger, and fear.

"That's right." he spoke up in a taunting tone, "Consider this everyone's first motive to kill. No one is allowed to do anything connected to their talent until someone is murdered. Now I know some of you probably aren't bothered about getting to use your talents, like a certain someone here who claims he hates his talent."

Leon couldn't help but flinch slightly when he saw the black and white bear flash a glare toward him for a few brief seconds before continuing "But I have been watching, and I know some of you simply adore your talents. Some of you even rely on them to stay calm, or simply bring someone happiness to other's time of despair. Whelp, now you can't do anything of those things. Either you deal with it or commit murder. Whelp that's all for now! See you chumps later!"

Leon remained silent as he glanced at his fellow companions. Much to his fear, he could see Monokuma's claim was true. While everyone didn't seemed too bothered or worried that they weren't allowed to use their talents; Isamu, Jin, Kazuo, Naoko seemed quite disturbed. He could easily understand why those four were unnerved by being forbidden from using their talents; Isamu and Naoko used their talent to stay calm in times of stress, Jin used her talent to help people during times of despair, and Kazuo had his entire life revolve around his talent.

Without another word, the group left the room, unsure what to think.  
Isamu was doing her best to stay calm as she kept trembling. Everything seemed numb to her ever since Monokuma's announcement; she didn't know what to think or feel. All she could feel was nothing but the over whelming feeling of despair. Her aqua colored eyes glanced up to see some of her friends were giving her concerned and worried looks.

Not wishing for them to worry, she forced a large smile on her face.

"Don't worry too much about me guys. It's just like Sting Blitz said in the episode where he and his teammates were taken prisoner by space pirates, 'Don't lose hope and fight the enemy with everything you got!' I just have to do that too." the sandy-blonde-headed teen proudly stated.

"Well I think Monokuma made a marvelous decision. While it does hinder my talent, at least I won't hear your obnoxious squeals of joy and I won't have to deal with this imbecile's annoying rock persona." Toshiro commented in his typical arrogant tone.

Isamu's smile immediately disappeared off her face as tears began brimming in her eyes. Once again she had been insulted by the Ultimate Director; she couldn't understand why he seemed to despise her and all the others.  
Isas glared hatefully at the arrogant teen and, without warning, he grabbed Toshiro by his coat jacket and slammed him against the wall. Everyone was stunned as they saw the race car driver sneer at the teen he kept firmly pinned against the wall.  
Fear was clearly painted on Toshiro's face as he struggled to get out of his attacker's grip. He hadn't anticipated Isas to lash out at, what he considered, his honest comment.

"Listen here you egotistical brat." Isas snarled with rage burning in his gray eyes, "Monokuma is already trying to torment us with this Killing Game. He's already given us a motive to try to get us to kill. So it doesn't help that you pipe up with your damn snarky comments. I will only say this once, shut up or I will make you wish you never met me."

Without another word, the black-headed teen finally released Toshiro from his grip, allowing the teenager to fall to the floor with a loud thud. Directing his attention away from the teenage boy he had threatened, he turned toward Isamu. He could tell that while she was still at the brink of sobbing, she was stunned by his actions. He released a long sigh from his mouth before walking over to the teenage girl and wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Come on, I'll take you back to your room. If it helps, I'll stay with you until nighttime. I can tell you might need someone, especially during a time like this." he stated in a comforting tone.

Isamu was taken back by the teen's sentiment. It surprised her how Isas had comforted her during the both times Toshiro had nearly driven her to tears. Not wanting to deny the comfort, especially when building robots was no longer an option, she nodded her head and allowed Isas to take her back to her room.  
Once the two left, silence filled the air as everyone stared in shock.  
Leon had never imagined Isas as the threatening type, especially after he appeared so calm when he first met him. But he could understand why the race car driver had lashed out at Toshiro, he would have done the same had he been in his position.

Without uttering a single word, the rest of the group left the hallway and returned to their rooms, choosing not to comment on what they had witnessed. With nighttime approaching, Leon let out a tired sigh as he took off his shoes, jacket, and shirt. His body felt exhausted, especially after having the constant thoughts of despair filling him. As he sat on his bed, the nineteen year-old grunted in frustration while running his hand through his red hair.

"Why did I have to end up in this hellish situation again? This is suppose to be my second chance, not my second death. I need to survive this thing somehow. I just can't die. I just can't die." Leon muttered to himself.

He could feel his entire body trembling as his thoughts drifted back to the events of the first killing game. He took in ragged and shaky breaths, squeezing his eyes shut whilst digging his fingers into his hair as the memory of the trial was burned into his mind. He could recall his screams as he pleaded for his life, the pained choke as the metal collar clamped around his neck, the burning pain as his body was dragged across the ground at top speeds, and finally the screams and pain during his execution.

His heart pounded in fear as he curled up into a ball, constantly repeating to himself that he wanted to live. He didn't wish to die in a horrible place of despair once again, he wanted to survive and escape the Killing Game. Suddenly the sound of knocking filled the air. Leon immediately jerked up his head with a gasp, having finally been awakened from the haunting thoughts of his past. He glanced at the door as the sound of knocking continued. Hoping that it wasn't Monokuma, the teenager stood up and opened the door. Much to his surprise, he was greeted by none other than Jin.

The blonde-headed girl opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when she noticed Leon's lack of a shirt. In that moment her mouth instantly clamped shut as her face turned blood red.  
Realizing the girl was slightly flustered about seeing him shirtless, the red-head chuckled a bit with a brow raised.

"What, you weren't expecting a baseball player to be decently built? I may not have as much of as an athletic body as Hideyo or Seiichi, but you shouldn't be surprised. Baseball can be quite the workout sometime." he smirked.

It took a few moments for Jin to register the comment before rapidly shaking her head, causing her blonde curls to bounce around rapidly.

"No, no, that not... I just... nevermind." she finally replied though still struggling to find words to say, "I just wanted to talk to you. It's about Monokuma's motive."

Upon hearing this, the smirk immediately vanished from Leon's face. He recalled that Jin was among those that seemed quite disturbed when the psychotic bear forbid everyone from using their talents until a murder takes place. Silently he stepped aside, allowing the fashion designer to enter his room. He frowned as he stared into her blue eyes, seeing how they were swimming in despair. It reminded him of the very same despair he saw swimming in Sayaka's eyes before she attempted to murder him.

A part of him worried that Jin came to his room to attempt the very same thing Sayaka did in his previous life. Wanting to be safe, his pale-blue eyes quickly scanned her body, searching for any signs of the chance she might be concealing a weapon. But much to his relief, the teenage girl showed no signs of having a weapon in her possession.  
Jin sighed as she sat down at the foot of Leon's bed, her eyes glued to the floor as she struggled to give her friend eye contact.

"Leon..." she started in a somber tone, not once lifting her head, "I'm worried about the others. Isamu, Naoko, and Kazuo to be pacific."

Her hands clasped together and trembled as she continued "I can tell Monokuma's motive has deeply affected them. Isamu was constantly trembling in anxiety, Kazuo is still very angry, and Naoko twitches every so often because he can't run. I want to help them, but how am I suppose to help them without my talent? Normally I just give other people some of my clothes and that cheers them up. But now, I can't even do that. I'm scared Leon, what if I can't save anyone from despair? What if someone actually..."

Unable to finish her sentence, the fashion designer threw her face into her hands and sobbed loudly. She didn't know how to help her friends; she didn't know how to save them from despair when she's falling into despair herself.  
Seeing she desperately needed comfort, Leon sat down next to the teenage girl. Gently he placed his hand against her arm and pulled her over where her head rested against his shoulder.

He remained silent as Jin's sobs filled the air, believing it was best to simply be a silent comfort. A few minutes passed by, but Jin's cries finally began quieting down to a few sobs. The red-headed teen didn't bother to move or speak, only offering occasionally rubs from his hand against her shoulder.  
With a few final sniffs, the blonde-haired teen raised her hand and wiped away her tears. She lifted her head off her friend's shoulder and smiled in gratefulness.

"Thanks Leon, I suppose I just really needed to get that cry out of my system. Those thoughts had nearly been bothering me all day. But still, I want to do my part to help everyone here." she spoke up.

Leon couldn't help but smile at the fashion designer's determination. He found it touching how she wanted to stay true to her promise and not let anyone else fall into despair.

"Well I'm sure you can do it, Jin." he insured, "Even without your talent, you can still help the others. You have a smile and giggle that's practically contagious; everyone can't help but feel happy when you greet them. Just by using your kindness, I'm sure you can help bring happiness to others. You did it with your customers and even me, I'm sure you can do that with everyone here."

A small blush managed to form on Jin's face as she tucked her hair behind her ear. Not only did Leon's word insured her, they flattered her. Thanks to her friend, the happiness in her heart had been reignited. Unfortunately the two were stirred from their thoughts when the intercom turned on with Monokuma announcing that it was officially nighttime. The blonde-headed teen sighed as she stood up from the bed, knowing it was time to return to her room. She made her way to the door, but before she left, she paused and turned toward Leon.

With a bright smile, she said "Thank you, Leon. I'm really happy to have a friend like you. I know we'll definitely beat Monokuma and then all of us will be able to escape this place."

The baseball player couldn't help but return the smile, once again falling under the influence of the girl's contagious smile. He silently waved as he watched her leave the room and closed the door behind her. Now alone in the room once again, Leon sighed as he laid down on his bed. It took some time, but he finally managed to get his body to relax enough to go asleep. But as he drifted into sleep, he couldn't help but feel worried about Monokuma's motive.

The next day, Leon yawned as he entered the factory's lunch room. Everyone had agreed to his rule of meeting up for breakfast to preform roll call to insure everyone was still alright. He glanced around the room to see nearly everyone was there. Naoko was fidgeting in his seat as he tried to prevent the urge to run while Kazuo munched on his food with a bored expression. Toshiro was practically glaring daggers at Isas as he sat across from him at the table. Kiyoshi, Hiroko, Mineko, and Seiichi were talking among themselves with Shizko not sitting too far away.

Leon was able to spot everyone except for Isamu, Hideyo, Hideaki, Hisoka, and Jin. Believing they were only running late, the nineteen year-old grabbed himself a plate of food and sat at the table. But as he ate, he couldn't banish the worry pounding away in his heart that something terrible had happened. A few minutes had passed by and everyone saw Hideyo and Hisoka arrive for breakfast. But unfortunately, the three other participants were still missing. The worry in Leon's heart grew, especially since none of the three had shown themselves. A few more minutes passed by and Hideaki entered the lunch room. Yet there was still no sign of Isamu nor Jin.

The nineteen year-old clenched his teeth hard as sweat formed on his brow. There was no longer any doubt in his mind, something had to have happened to cause Isamu and Jin to not show up for breakfast. With panic filling him, he immediately asked everyone if they had seen any sign of the teenage girls.

"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen neither Isamu nor Jin all this morning. It is quite concerning, especially during a Killing Game like this." Hisoka stated with a frown.

Knowing that the two teenage girls needed to be found, the thirteen teens decided to split up and search the factory. Leon's heart continued to pound as he ran through the many hallways of the factory, hoping his fears weren't true. He kept searching until he finally he stumbled upon the main factory room. His running immediately slowed down to cautious steps to insure he wouldn't accidentally bump into Monokuma.

 _"The last thing I need is to bump into that psychotic bear. I prefer not to see his face for a long time."_ he thought to himself.

Hoping that either Jin or Isamu could be in the main factory room, the red-head decided to search around the deactivated factory machines. But when he turned to walk past one of the deactivated machines, his pale-blue eyes widened whilst his body froze in fear. Lying lifeless on the ground, in a large puddle of blood, was none other than Jin Kaoru.

 **Killing Game Students - 14 Remain**


	5. Chapter 5 - Clues for Murder

Chapter 5

Leon could barely think as he stared at the dead body before him. He could feel a chill run down his spine as his body remained stiff. Flashes of the images of the dead Sayaka sitting in the pool of her own blood while he stared in horror at the blood on his hands and clothes flashed through his mind. He could barely feel like he could breathe as he attempted to take a few steps back only to stumble and fall backwards. A few brief doubts managed to rush through the teen's mind, thinking that he was only dreaming or simply experiencing hallucinations of paranoia. But no matter how long he stared at Jin's body, she still remained motionless with her eyes permanently shut.

The red-head remained motionless as his pale-blue eyes remained fixated on the dead body before him, unable to notice the sound of footprints and Kazuo's yells while entering the main factory room.

"Yo Leon, you in here dude? I saw you headed this way! I found Isamu! Turns out she hadn't left her room because she was having to replace a broken light in her room!" the guitarist shouted as he dragged the teenage girl by the wrist, "Anyway did you find..."

Unfortunately he was unable to finish his sentence when he saw Jin's dead body. At that moment he immediately stopped in his tracks whilst his mouth hung open in shock.  
Isamu gasped as she slapped her hands firmly over her mouth in horror; her face turning a sickly shade of pale and feeling like her stomach dropped. She couldn't believe a such a kind and sweet girl as Jin would end up getting murdered. She didn't understand why someone felt that their talent was more important than the life of a pure-hearted girl. The fashion designer was always friendly to the others, offering to help them in any kind of way. Now she could no longer bring such happiness with her own life being stolen away. Isamu couldn't help but sob out of bitterness, wondering why the culprit fell into the temptation of the Killing Game.

It wasn't long till Hideaki entered the main factory room to search for the others. His eyes widened in shock when they laid upon the lifeless body of Jin. He had hoped the girl's disappearance hadn't meant her death like he feared, but now he could see his fears were unfortunately correct. He glanced over Leon and was surprised to see the nineteen year-old staring at the dead body. He frowned in worry when he saw the baseball player barely showed any emotion on his face except for his eyes that were constantly shaking.

Wanting to make sure he was okay, he walked over to the red-head and gently laid his hand on his shoulder, But the moment he did this, the forensicist wasn't prepared for what happened next.  
The instant Leon felt his shoulder touched, he immediately jerked away and scampered backwards to the point his back hit the deactivated machine behind him. A crazed and wild look of fear was clearly painted on his face as he took in frantic breaths.

"I didn't kill her! I didn't kill her! Please don't punish me! I didn't kill her!" the teen began screaming in a frightened voice.

"L-Leon?" Isamu asked out of concern, slightly frightened of this new side of Leon she was experiencing.

Suddenly, without warning, the factory's intercom turned on, emitting a loud beeping to echo throughout the factory.

Once the beeping had finished, Monkuma's voice announced loudly "A body has been discovered! Everyone please gather in the main factory room! Should you not be able to recall where that's located, refer to your Monopad for directions!"

Within minutes, the rest of the participants finally arrived at the murder scene. Not only were they all shocked by Jin's death, they were concerned by Leon who still in his panicked state.  
Knowing that he needed help, Hisoka cautiously approached the panicked teen and kneeled down before him. Thanks to his many studies in the medical field, he instantly recognized that the baseball player was showing signs of having PTSD. Without a word, he turned toward Mineko and gestured with his wrist for her to approach.

The music composer bit her lip nervously as she kneeled down next to the doctor. She never had imagined that she would witness Leon in such a panicked state when he seemed more or less calm the previous day. It was hard for her to believe that the teenage boy that nearly immediately took charge once the Killing Game was announced was now the same one trembling before her.

"It's best not to touch him right now." Hisoka advised in a stern tone, "He's under a lot of panic and stress which is causing him not to think clearly. I need you to call out his name multiple times in a calm manner to try to bring him back to his senses. Once he's settled down more, call me so I can check up on him. For now, I will be examining Jin's body with Hideaki. It's best if we determine exactly how she was killed."

Mineko nodded her head before turning her attention to Leon. A pang of sadness filled her heart as she stared at the scared teen before her. She didn't know what exactly gave him PTSD in the first place, but didn't want to imagine what that event could be if Jin's death left him so terrified in the first place. Deciding to follow the doctor's orders, she began gently calling out the teen's name.  
Leon barely acknowledged the sounds or people that currently surrounded him. All he knew was that Jin was dead and feared he would lose his life because of it, just like he did for Sayaka's murder.

He clenched his teeth hard as his body trembled; he didn't want to die yet again and lose his soul. He still wanted to live, otherwise his second chance at life would be pointless. He kept panicking until he heard a soft yet concerned voice repeatedly calling out his name. The nineteen year-old glanced around the room, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. Finally his sights managed to settle on a figure kneeling before him. His breaths slowed when he found himself staring into concerned blue eyes.

The red-head remained silent as he stared at the girl trying to comfort him, barely reacting when she reached out and took a hold of his hand. He didn't know why, but the girl seemed very familiar to him. He quickly searched his memories, desperately trying to recall the girl's name. After a few moments of searching, he finally stumbled upon the memory of the girl greeting him with a kind and sweet tone.

Curious if the girl before him was truly the one he was seeing in his memories, Leon spoke up with a bit of hesitancy "Sayaka?"

Upon hearing the name, he saw the girl furrowed her brows together in confusion before replying "Saya... No Leon, I'm Mineko remember? Leon, I really need you to focus."

The baseball player grunted while squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head, trying to regain his senses. When he reopened his eyes once more, he was shocked to find himself staring into concerned green eyes rather than blue ones. Fortunately it didn't take long for him to finally take notice of his companions all gathered in the room with Jin's dead body on the floor.  
Unfortunately, before anyone could utter a single word, the sound of familiar yet terrifying laughter filled the air. Without any hesitation, the group immediately turned around to see Monokuma snickering with his paws firmly placed over his mouth.

"So the sweet one bit the dust first? Puhuhu! Figured as much, kindness has never won any of the killing games in the past. Maybe if she had more common sense instead of being so nice to her murderer, she would still be alive. Oh well, sucks for her and is great for me! Because of her stupidity, the Killing Game has finally started!" Monokuma mocked with glee.

"Is that all you come here to do, mock Jin for not doing the one thing you wanted us all to do? If so, I am not fond of your tactics and will not have you making light of this situation." Hideyo said in a bitter tone, her purple eyes narrowed hatefully at the robotic bear.

The black and white bear couldn't help but chuckle in a sinister tone at the teen's words. While she currently showed bravery toward her captor, he knew she would lose that bravery the moment he threatened her life. After all he knew, should anyone of them try to attack him or bring him any harm in any kind of way, he would have an excuse to murder them. But the psychotic bear hoped it wouldn't come to that, finding it more entertaining to watch the teens try to kill each other rather than murder them himself.

The bear snickered once more before finally replying "Nah, that's only part of it. Since there's been a murder, I'm here to give ya chumps your instructions and Monokuma File. It goes like this, once three people other than the murderer have found the body, the investigation period will begin. Basically you all have a short period of time to gather evidence for the victim's murder, that way you can decide who the blackened will be in the class trial. I'll give further instructions in the court room, but for now, the Monokuma File, which you can see has been added to your Monopad functions, will explain brief details on the victim's death. I will omit information if I consider it a clue that gives away the culprit's identity too easily. Well that's all, see ya losers!"

With that said, Monokuma left the room once more with his traditional yet haunting laughter filling the air.  
Leon groaned while rubbing his hand against his forehead, not keen on having the demented bear's laughter ring in his ears. Once he could no longer hear Monokuma's laughter, he inhaled deeply as he glanced at Jin's body. The teen couldn't help but sigh as he hung his head low, wishing that he could've have prevented her death. But he understood that Jin's death was different from Sayaka's, with Sayaka he had full control over her fate while Jin's fate was out of his control. He knew the only thing he could do for her now is to find her killer and hope that puts her spirit at peace.

"I can't believe Jin's dead because of this Killing Game. What kind of sicko would force us into this scenario? I thought the killing games were behind us after Junko and her Remnants of Despair fell." Kiyoshi whimpered with her entire body trembling.

"Well logic dictates that, just like the previous killing games, the Mastermind would be one of us." Hiroko suggested before turning toward Kazuo, "You're loud and obnoxious. Perhaps you're the Mastermind of this Killing Game."

The guitarist nearly jumped in back in shock from the accusation he received from the speech debater. He clenched his teeth before exclaiming that he would have to be an "old geezer" for Hiroko to think he was the Mastermind behind the Killing Game.  
Ignoring the bickering that promptly started up between the two teens, Hisoka sighed while shaking his head. He believed there was no time for arguing or trying to figure out exactly who was running the Killing Game. What he considered the most important thing at the moment was making sure Leon had recovered from his panic attack and discovering exactly who murdered Jin.

With his mind set, he finally turned away from Jin's body and made his way over to Leon once more. He remained silent as he studied the red-head's state, noticing that the he was now taking in deep breaths as his eyes slowly examined his surroundings. The doctor couldn't help but smile in relief, glad that Mineko had managed to successfully calm the athlete down. He turned his head to thank the music composer, but froze at what he saw. His brows raised in surprise when he saw Mineko was holding tightly onto Leon's hand.

"Mineko..." he began with a sigh, not showing any signs of anger as he continued in a stern tone, "It's good you helped Leon calm down. But should this happen again, don't grab his hand. I understand the sentiment, but sudden contact can often make the person suffering from PTSD lash out. You're lucky that didn't happen."

The light-brown haired girl was confused by the doctor's warning until she noticed that she had indeed grabbed a hold of Leon's hand. Her eyes were filled with confusion as she gently released the teenage boy's hand. She didn't recall grabbing his hand when she was trying to calm him down. At one point she felt like something was urging her to do so, but she didn't recall obeying that urge.  
Suddenly the group's thoughts were interrupted when Toshiro began reading the Monokuma File for Jin out loud. They quickly learned that Jin was murdered around five after twelve that night, only a few hours after nighttime had officially began. The cause of her death was blunt-force trauma to the back of her head; death was instantaneous.

"Instantaneous? That would have to be a strong swing. Normally the victim is either knocked out or simply lives a short while before dying to their wounds. But for that type of wound to be instantly fatal, it would require enough force to crack her skull." Hisoka noted with a frown.

Knowing that the wound wouldn't be enough evidence to point toward the fashion designer's murderer, the group decided to split up and search for clues.  
Leon grunted as he slowly stood back up, wanting to do his part to help in the investigation. He still felt slightly weak from his panic attack, but decided to brush off the dizziness for Jin's sake. He was about to take a step until he heard something snap under his shoe. Curiosity filling him, the red-head lifted up his shoe to see none other than large wooden splinters scattered on the floor.

His pale-blue eyes narrowed in suspicion at the discovery of the splinters. They were no were near Jin's body and there was no blood trail to indicate that her body had been moved, leaving him to wonder why the splinters were there in the first place. Hoping to learn the answer, he examined the deactivated machine, searching for any sign of a clue. Much to his relief, he managed to find one. Leon didn't utter a single word as his fingers ran across one of the poles on the machine. Unlike the other machines, the pole Leon was touching had a large dent in it.

 _"The size of this dent, it almost looks like..."_ he thought to himself.

Suddenly realization struck him like a lightning bolt. Wasting no time, the red-head quickly dashed out of the room and headed for his room. Once there, he quickly opened the door and searched around his room for his wooden baseball bat. Unfortunately, no matter where he searched, he couldn't find any sign of it. The teen couldn't help but grunt in rage whilst slamming his fist against the wall, frustrated that he failed to notice its disappearance earlier. He sighed as he took slow yet steady steps toward the door, worried that the bat might have been taken by Jin.

He didn't want to believe that she was attempting to murder someone just like Sayaka did, but he knew it wasn't out of the realm of possibility. He was about to leave his room until a strange detail caught his attention. On the door frame where his lock was located, he noticed scuff marks and a piece of a broken card stuck to the latch. Careful not to break the piece even more, Leon plucked the piece from the latch. Silently he flipped it around in his hands, searching for any sign of identification. Unfortunately the card was mostly blank except for the letter "U" ingrained into it.

"This looks like it was part of a debit card. Did the one who killed Jin use this to break into my room to steal my bat?" he muttered to himself.

Believing that the piece of card could be important, Leon placed it in his pocket before closing the door. Hoping that the culprit might have possibly left more clues, the baseball player examined around the door to his room. Sure enough, on the floor was small streaks of blood, smeared as if someone was attempting to clean up evidence. He hadn't noticed them when he left his room earlier that morning, but understood that the detail could easily be missed due to how small the spots were. Despite mostly being cleaned up, Leon could locate the spots that once formed the shape of a bloody shoe.

"By the looks of it, there were originally bloody footprints both entering and leaving my room. But that would have to mean, Jin was already dead when the culprit came to my room. Exactly why did they want my bat if it wasn't the murder weapon?" the red-head commented to himself.

Unsure how to explain the evidence found around his room, he decided to return to the others to see if they found any clues. It didn't take long for him to return the main factory room. Unfortunately, upon his return, he found himself greeted with a horrifying sight. His pale-blue eyes widened in fear when he was greeted with faces of shock, anger, and sadness staring at him, much similar to the faces he saw during his execution. But the faces weren't the thing Leon found most disturbing, instead it was something much more horrifying.

In the center of the group he saw a terrified Kiyoshi holding none other than his missing bat. Except the bat was no longer in the shape he remembered seeing it in the previous day. Now it was broken, leaving a large hole with many splinters jutting out of it, and dried blood plastered around the hole.  
Kiyoshi trembled as her fingers clung tightly onto the bat. She never imagined to find such a disturbing discovery in the trashcan located in the back of the room. She didn't want to believe the implications the object in her hands gave off, but sadly she saw little room for any doubt. Knowing she needed to confront her suspicions, she swallowed hard in an attempt to gather her nerves.

Finally she spoke up in a frightened and nervous tone "Leon, you aren't the one who murdered Jin are you?"


	6. Chapter 6 - The First Trial

Chapter 6

Leon was unable to think up a response as he felt all eyes in the room focus directly on him. With his bat discovered bloody and busted at the scene of the murder, he didn't have to guess to know that his companions were now suspecting him. He couldn't prevent a small frustrated sigh from escaping his mouth, now understanding how Makoto felt when everyone suspected him for Sayaka's murder.

The room remained in silence until it was shattered by Naoko shouting "Ah man, this is getting tense. I need to clear my head. Good thing I can run again now that a murder happened."

He was about to start jogging until he noticed the glares directed toward him, especially Hideyo's. The teen stared in confusion at the glares, wondering what had angered them until he realized what he had said. At that moment an embarrassed grin formed on his face as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Oh right... Jin was a good friend, I shouldn't be happy that she's dead. He he he... whoops." he replied nervously.

Before he could even react, Hideyo stormed over to him and grabbed him by the ear. With a few yelps of pain, Naoko frantically swung his arms and dug his heels into the ground, trying everything in his power to prevent himself from being dragged out of the room. Unfortunately, he was unable to stop the stunt actress from pulling him through the doorway.  
No one uttered a single word as the sprint runner's yelps of pain slowly died down. They simply stood in silence as they stared at the nervous looking Leon.

Fortunately, the silence was shattered once more by the sound of the intercom turning on and Monokuma announcing that their investigation period was now over, meaning the participants were to gather in the factory elevator in order to be transported to the courtroom.  
Leon did his best to calm his rapidly beating heart as the others walked past him. He recalled in his previous life how stepping into the elevator led him to the Class Trial that would claim his life. The thought of stepping on a similar elevator terrified him, especially if he was unable to prove his innocence.

Knowing he couldn't delay the inevitable, the red-head took in a shaky breath before following his companions to the elevator. He tried his best to hide his trembles of fear whilst slowly stepping into the metal elevator. His eyes glanced around at the others, noticing some showed as much uncertainty at what they were about to experience, while others simply stayed calm in the face of danger. The nineteen year-old couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of his companions that didn't fear Monokuma's trial. Even though he did not commit the murder like in the previous Killing Game, he still feared the place that haunted his memories.

Not a single word was spoken as the elevator began traversing downward. The old wheels and cord creaked and squeaked constantly as the metal box continued it's decent downward, creating a frightening atmosphere for the fourteen teens. It wasn't long till it finally screeched to a stop, finally reaching its destination.  
Leon's breath hitched when the elevator door slid open to reveal a large room with wooden stands all placed in a circle formation. It didn't quite exactly look like the courtroom from Hope's Peak Academy, but still held striking similarities.

"So this is what the infamous trial rooms looked like. My parents said that many students of Hope's Peak Class seventy-eight lost their lives in a courtroom like this." Hideaki muttered with his mouth hanging open.

"I heard the stories too." Shizko agreed with the nod of her head, "My parents watched the original broadcast. Apparently it disturbed them to watch the executions. It sounded so horrible and now we're in this situation ourselves."

Upon hearing this, Toshiro huffed with the roll of his eyes "Speak for yourself. Junko Enoshima may have been a madwoman, but you have to admit that her executions were creative. Motorcycles, a crusher, a rocket, you name it! I think there was even one that involved baseballs or something. Point is that those executions would be amazing for a film!"

Leon was unable to prevent himself from flinching the moment the director mentioned his execution. It angered him slightly that the brown-headed teen seemed to be delighted by the fact Junko was willing to execute her own friends just for her own amusement. He clenched his teeth hard as he immediately banished the image of the teenage girl with a sly grin, wishing his memories of her had remained forgotten. The baseball player was drawn from his thoughts when the sound of Monokuma's laughter reached his ears.

Without any hesitation, he lifted up his head to see the black and white bear sitting in a red throne. He could feel a chill run down his spine upon seeing Monokuma chuckle in amusement. He knew the bear too well to figure that he would be happy with the results of the trial; regardless of the outcome, in the end someone will die. Gathering up his nerves one last time, the red-head finally made his way to one of the stands. His heart nearly stopped when he noticed a couple stands away from him was none other than a post with a colorless picture of Jin on it, her kind smile covered up by the glaring red X that had been painted over her face.

Having taken notice of the picture, Mineko frowned as she asked "Why is there a picture of Jin there?"

Monokuma's grin practically widened as he laughed in reply "Puhuhu! I'm glad you asked. Since you all liked Jin so much, I figured I would leave a picture of her. That way it's like she never left! Of course to remind you guys of the fact that she's indeed dead, I made sure to put that X on her picture. So she's only with you in spirit, literally!"

Seiichi snarled with his fist firmly clenched; it took all his willpower not to lunge toward the bear. They would be sentencing one of their friends to death, just like in Junko's killing games, and he didn't want to disturb his friends by getting himself killed. He understood that attacking Monokuma would only result in his death due to it being against the rules. But despite this, he still wished he could help his companions somehow.

Seeing that the participants were now placed in their assigned stands, Monokuma didn't waste anytime explaining the rules of the trial. It amused him to see the teens do their best to hide away their nervousness as he stated the purpose of the trial. The trials were a place of a discussion, giving the survivors of the Killing Game a chance to come to a conclusion on who they believed to be the culprit. He grinned slyly upon mentioning the punishment portion of the trial. Regardless of whether the culprit was successfully identified, someone would receive the punishment.

Leon's eyes darted around the room as he desperately tried to gather his thoughts. He was unsure of where to begin in order to successfully point out Jin's murderer, having barely paid attention during the first class trial from his previous killing game. As much as he disliked the thought, the red-head began searching his memories, trying to recall how Makoto was able to expose him as Sayaka's murderer.

 _"Ugh, can't believe I have to refer to him getting me killed as a reference."_ the nineteen year-old thought to himself in frustration, _"Okay so the first thing he did after the others... and I accused him of murdering Sayaka was prove that he wasn't present at the scene of the murder. Should be easy. I mean if he can do it, should be simple for me."_

But suddenly, before he could even open his mouth, he found himself cut off by Toshiro stating in his typical arrogant tone "Well I think there's no sense in beating around the bush. It's obvious that Leon is the one that murdered Jin."

 _"And I suppose this is payback for back then. As if I didn't feel guilty enough for the trial and Sayaka's murder."_ the red-head noted with his brows lowered.

He inhaled deeply as he looked over all the clues for the murder. While it was a weak argument, he tried pointing out how he was one of the first people to discover Jin's body. Much to his disappointment, Hiroko immediately shot down his argument by stating that the body announcement didn't go off till Hideaki entered the room. At that moment, Leon's eyes snapped wide open in shock. He knew that when the forensicist entered the room, the only ones in the main factory room with him was none other than Isamu and Kazuo.

He was speechless as he glanced toward the two teens, finding it hard to believe one of them could be the murderer. Isamu seemed too innocent minded and Kazuo didn't show any interest in murdering someone. Unfortunately he couldn't deny the fact the two were among those who were clearly affected by Monokuma's motive. The only other ones were Naoko who was clearly innocent, and Jin who was no longer alive. Though before the baseball player could dwell on his thoughts any longer, his conscious was drawn back to reality by the sound of Hisoka's voice.

"I don't want to think Leon murdered Jin," the doctor began with his arms firmly folded across his chest, "but the state we found him in doesn't give off good implications. He was clearly panicked when logically he shouldn't have. But I don't want to jump to conclusions, the possibility that Jin's body was merely a trigger that reminded him of a tragic event in his past is possible. He wasn't really aware of his surroundings at the time."

"Not to mention we found his baseball bat at the crime scene in the trash can." Kiyoshi immediately stated, "Hideaki said that he found pieces of splinters lodged in Jin's head, meaning that the weapon used to murder her was indeed made out of wood. There's no other evidence to prove that the baseball bat wasn't the weapon since there's no explanation for why it was broken and covered in blood."

Leon clenched his fists in nervousness at the arguments presented before him. He needed to convince the others that his baseball bat wasn't the murder weapon, otherwise it would be unlikely that he could convince them of his innocence. The bat was broken and covered in blood, giving off the implication that it was the very object smashed against Jin's head. But he couldn't help but wonder, if there was evidence that proved the bat wasn't the weapon. He found it hard to believe the murderer would be careless enough to think that no one would find the bat if they simply discarded it in the trash can. The only reason he could think of for the culprit's action was that they left it to be purposely found, meaning that they wanted everyone to think the bat was the murder weapon.

Wanting to bring this detail to attention, Leon asked "Did any of you even consider the possibility that the bat was planted there on purpose? It might not even be the murder weapon."

Suddenly without warning, the baseball player jumped when Hideyo slammed her fist against her podium, prompting a loud bang to echo throughout the courtroom.

"Don't try to sneak your way out of this you snake!" she hissed, venom dripping off each of her words, "You were panicking the moment we came into the room. The doctor may say it may just be PTSD, but I find it incredibly convenient your trigger happened to be Jin's corpse. If you were half the decent person Jin was, you would have already confessed. Actually you wouldn't have even killed her in the first place! Now admit that you were the one that murdered her!"

Leon's fingers curled as he clenched his teeth tightly. He could see Hideyo was truly disgusted at the fact one of them gave into Monokuma's demands. He easily figured that from the moment the stunt actress directed her anger toward the demented bear for mocking Jin's nature. But unfortunately as much as he agreed that her reaction was necessary, he didn't want her to accuse him out of rage. The nineteen year-old took in a deep breath, doing his best to keep his nerves under control as he glared at the teenage girl.

"Hideyo, we're all upset about Jin's death." he began in a stern tone, "But blaming me isn't going to bring her back, especially since I'm not the one who murdered her. If you truly want to help Jin, you'll at least give me a chance to defend myself. If you all throw me under the bus, you'll be letting the freaking murderer get away scott free!"

The stunt actress snarled whilst rage burned in her purple eyes. She considered the red-head's words meaningless unless he had evidence that proved her wrong. No matter what it took, she intended to expose the murderer and prevent another killing from taking place. Nothing angered her more than Monokuma having his way.  
Seeing the athletic woman wouldn't back down without a fight, Leon sighed while rubbing his hand against his forehead.

"Ugh, why do you have to be so stubborn? You would really risk all our lives on a hunch?" he grumbled, not bothering to hide the anger in his words, "Fine. I will prove to you why I think my bat isn't the weapon."

Without any hesitation, the red-head pointed out the splinters he found along with the dented pipe on the machine. A small smirk formed on his face when he saw the glare on Hideyo's face immediately falter. Feeling confident, he continued to explain how the splinters should have been around Jin's body and with no indication of the fashion designer's body being moved after death, the splinters had to come from something else.

"So what you're saying is the murderer smashed the bat against the pipe, breaking it, and then put Jin's blood on it in order to make it look like the murder weapon. That would mean the culprit was trying to pin the blame on you pacifically. But why you, when they had so many people to choose from?" Isamu questioned with a frown.

Before anyone to respond to the sandy-blonde-headed girl's question, Kazuo immediately commented "Because they were desperate obviously. Probably panicked and picked the first random person. If you ask me, that's totally whack."

"But there's still the question how they would even get a hold of the bat. Our rooms were locked at night, meaning Leon was the only one that could have access to the bat. He could have simply came up with the bat as fake evidence to prove his innocence. Without any proof that the bat was taken without his knowledge, we have to still consider him a suspect." Hiroko noted in a professional manner.

Leon bit his lip nervously as his eyes glanced around the room, refusing to make eye contact with the purple-headed woman. He now understood exactly how Hiroko managed to earn her title as the "Ultimate Speech Debater." The teenage girl clearly shown she was skilled in refuting points and creating counter-arguments, meaning he could accidentally seal his fate thanks to her sharp tongue. Knowing he needed to destroy her suggestion, Leon immediately began searching his memories and the clues surrounding Jin's murder, anything that could prove his innocence.

He grunted as he shoved his hands into his pockets, growing more annoyed and frustrated at the situation. But upon doing this, his pale-blue eyes widened when he felt something poke his hand inside his pocket. Curious of what it was, he pulled the object out of his pocket to see it was the piece of the broken debit card that had the letter "U" ingrained in it. The red-head's brows raised in surprise; he had forgotten he placed the piece in his pocket to use as evidence in the first place. Hoping it would convince the others, he took in a deep breath before holding up the piece for his companions to see.

"During the investigation, I went back to my room to check if my bat was still there. I was worried Jin might had taken it when she came to my room last night and-" Leon started to explain.

But much to his shock, he found himself interrupted by Naoko shouting "Wait, Jin went to your room last night?! Why the heck was she there?!"

Toshiro huffed with the shake of his head, considering the sprint runner before him to be nothing more than a naive child.

"Oh please, Jin had a clear infatuation with him. I think we can guess why she visited his room at night of all times." he suggested with a smug grin.

Mineko's face turned red as she began rubbing her arm nervously, understanding exactly what the director was implying. Though she found it hard to believe Jin would do such a thing, especially since she had only known Leon for one day.

Upon hearing this, the baseball player's face nearly turned red as his hair while he exclaimed "What?! Why would you? For crying out loud, I was wearing pants you know!"

"Pants?! But what about your shirt?!" Naoko yelped with his yellow eyes nearly as wide as saucers.

Before anyone else could add their thoughts on why Jin had chosen to visit Leon, Hideyo yelled as loud as she could in the courtroom. Everyone, even Monokuma himself, couldn't help but shiver in fear from hearing the woman's loud yell due to the intimidation it held.  
Hideyo's mouth was formed into a firm sneer as she stated how the group had gone off topic, and needed to return their focus back on Jin's murder.  
Seeing everyone was back on track, Leon continued his explanation about searching his room for clues. He found it quite strange there was a debit card piece stuck in the latch on the door.

He stated that the only reason for that piece being there had to be from the culprit entering his room. The pieces of the mystery were easily falling in place for the red-head. There was no doubt in his mind that the culprit had used their debit card to force open the door to his room while he was still asleep and took his bat in order to try to frame him for the murder. The explanation even explained why there were traces of bloody footprints seen heading toward and leaving his room. By not completely cleaning that up, the culprit's plan to frame Leon fell through.

His pale-blue eyes glanced toward his companions to see some of them now deep in thought, especially Isamu. All of them but Leon were convinced that the baseball bat would point toward the red-head himself as the culprit. But with new evidence arising that proves the nineteen year-old's innocence, none of them were quite sure what to think.

"An interesting theory, Leon," Hisoka noted with his hand placed on his chin, "but how can you prove that card was used that night? I don't want to doubt you, but at the same time I want to consider all possibilities. Our lives are at risk and we must make sure that we choose wisely."

Leon's body stiffened as his face turned white from the doctor's question; he had no proof that the card was used that night. He could easily tell them how the card wasn't in the latch the previous day, unfortunately his words aren't enough. As long as his companions still suspected him, his words alone are unable to prove his claim. His heart felt like it nearly stopped as his body trembled. History was repeating itself before his very eyes, he was going to die to the Killing Game once again. The red-head squeezed his eyes shut in fear, dreading for what kind of punishment would lie in wait for him and his companions.

But then suddenly, without warning, a male voice shouted "He might not be able to prove it, but I think I can!"

At that instant, Leon's eyes snapped wide open to see Isas with the look of determination painted on his face.

"I thought nothing of it, but after hearing Leon, I now know what I heard last night is definitely connected to Jin's murder!" the race car driver stated in a stern tone.

Without any hesitation, he began explaining a strange occurrence he noticed during the night of Jin's murder. Due to being worried about Isamu's state, the black-haired teen had decided to stay up for most of the night in order to make sure she was alright. He had noticed that everything was quiet until he heard a noise around midnight. That noise was the sound of a door opening and a set of footsteps walking down the hallway, only to shortly be followed by the exact same noises. Isas couldn't help but feel guilty that he didn't bother to check up on those noises, believing he could have prevented Jin's murder had he left his room.

Continuing to recall his memories from that fateful night, he remembered hearing the sounds of more footsteps and doors being opened and closed. It was around thirty after midnight that he heard the final set of footsteps and opening doors until finally it was silent for the rest of the night. He inhaled deeply through his nose as his eyes glanced toward the ground.

"I'm really hating that I didn't bother to check up on those noises. I could have saved Jin." he confessed out loud, feeling his guilt weigh heavily on his shoulders, "I should had remembered exactly where we were and what game we've been forced to play. If I had then maybe we all wouldn't be standing in this courtroom. We all still would have been alive, and we all would have been safe."

But before anyone could even try to respond to the race car driver or even comfort him, the sound of Monokuma's laughter filled the air. The bear laughed loudly with his paws firmly placed on his stomach as he rolled in his chair.

"Man, I thought you were one of the smarter ones! It doesn't matter if 'Ms. Too Nice for Her Own Good' died or not. Even if she wasn't murdered, one of you would still be getting punished. After all, I know about everything that happens in this factory!" he smirked with glee.

All the students stared in shock at Monokuma's statement. They didn't understand how could one of them get punished even if Jin hadn't been murdered in the first place.  
Leon's hands curled into two fists as he glared at the psychotic bear. He knew him too well to know that Monokuma never simply killed someone for no reason; every kill had a reason behind it. With that knowledge in mind, he quickly pulled out his Monopod and scrolled down the rule list. The red-head knew no one tried to attack Monokuma otherwise the person would have been killed before their eyes, meaning the culprit had to have broken one of the other rules.

He kept searching the rules until finally he stopped on the final rule which was none other than the rule the demented bear had added as the group's motive. It was crossed out now with a red line due to it being void thanks to Jin's death, but the teen didn't need to read it to know the answer.

Wanting to confirm his suspicions, Leon turned toward the black and white bear and asked "You're referring to the rule you gave us as a motive. The one where you forbid us from using our talents until a murder took place."

The teen felt a little unsettled as the bear's grin grew wider as he stated "You seem to catch on pretty quick. Too quick if you ask me, but I guess you're just smarter than you look. But yes, the culprit in question did indeed break that very rule. It was actually kind of funny, watching them sneak around in the night. They actually thought they could secretly use their talent and I wouldn't even notice. Guess they didn't even consider the cameras I placed everywhere. Puhuhu!"

While unnerved by Monokuma's words, the group of teens now understood why Jin was murdered. It was clear that she noticed the culprit headed toward the main factory room and followed them. Once she had discovered that the culprit was trying to secretly use their talent, the culprit had murdered her in attempt to keep their secret from getting out. Not wanting the murder to be tracked back to them, the culprit proceeded to break into Leon's room and steal his bat in order to plant evidence. Meaning the culprit had to be none other than one of the participants that were clearly affected by Monokuma's motive.

Silence filled the room until finally it was shattered by Kazuo commenting with a huff "Dudes, we're getting way off track here. Remember, Jin's death was instantaneous. Like Doc said, that would have to be a wicked strong swing. Cause I mean, **who can swing stronger than a baseball player anyway?** "

Upon hearing those last few words, Leon jolted in shock as his breath hitched in realization.

 _What can I say, I have a strong swing._

Without even thinking and still in shock, Leon slowly muttered in reply "You can."

The moment those words left the red-head's mouth, Kazuo's neutral expression faltered, showing a hint of fear for a few brief seconds. But then the expression quickly vanished, replaced with one of anger.

"Are you whack dude?! There's no way I would kill a babe like Jin! She was nice to all of us! Besides, are you forgetting that Isamu was missing for most of this morning? She told me she was just trying to repair the light bulb in her room but she could have been easily lying to me! The body announcement didn't go off despite her being with us!" he snapped with rage flaring in his brown eyes.

Isamu gasped in fear as her whole body began to tremble. She couldn't believe Kazuo was trying to blame her for the murder when she knew that she hadn't killed Jin. She had been honest when she told him that she was repairing the light bulb. It had flickered out when she was reading one of her manga in order to distract herself. Unfortunately when she tried to ask Monokuma to have the light in her room fixed, he only gave her a spare light bulb and told her to go fix it herself much to her frustration.

Leon sighed as he closed his eyes. While it angered him that Kazuo was so willing to throw away the lives of his friends in order to insure his own survival, he understood his actions. He could tell the guitarist was terrified of dying, the same fear that most likely drove him to murdering Jin in the first place. A fear much similar to the one that filled him when he murdered Sayaka and was willing to sacrifice the others in order to live. But despite understanding the teen's actions, he wasn't willing to toss away his companions' lives and his own in order to allow the guitarist to live.

With his mind set, the red-head reopened his eyes as he continued "Isamu does have a poor alibi. But you have the one thing she doesn't, and that's strength. Isamu specializes in robotics, meaning that she would be unable to kill Jin with a single swing. Besides, I recall you gloating yesterday about how your swing was strong enough to shatter a guitar. The way you worded it gave off the implication that you could do so with a single swing. I say that strength is strong enough to kill someone with a single blow to the head."

Kazuo clenched his teeth with his fingers curling tightly around the edges of his wooden stand. While rage was still clearly painted on the teenager's face, his brown eyes were shaking full of panic. Desperately wanting to direct suspicion from himself, he pointed out that his shoes would have been bloody had he murdered Jin. There was a few footprints around the scene along with the traces of the footprints the killer tried to clean up around the door to Leon's room. Wanting to show everyone that he didn't have a single trace of blood on his shoes, he lifted up one of his legs and pulled the shoe off.

"See! Look at that! Not a single speck! So there's no way I'm the murderer! This whack dude here is trying to frame me for a murder I didn't commit!" the orange-haired teen stated as he held the shoe high enough for everyone to see.

Leon furrowed his brows as he studied the shoe. It was true, there was no signs of blood on the shoe and it didn't show any signs of the blood being cleaned off. Yet despite these details, the nineteen year-old couldn't help but feel there was something off. He stared at the shoes with his eyes narrowed, trying to figure out why the shoes seemed so strange to him. It only took him a few seconds to finally realize why the shoes seemed strange.

"Those aren't the shoes you wore yesterday!" he instantly exclaimed, "The shoes you were wearing yesterday were black while these are only dark gray! You wouldn't have changed shoes for no reason unless there was something that you knew everyone would have easily noticed had you wore those shoes!"

Kazuo yelped both out of shock and fear whilst he unconsciously dropped the shoe he held. He didn't think anyone would have noticed his change in shoes due to it being such an insignificant detail. His body shook as sweat dripped down his forehead. He didn't know what to do, he didn't know how he could direct suspicion away from himself. Not knowing what else to do, the guitarist clenched his fists as he started screaming rage filled words at the baseball player. A string of insults and desperate claims flowed forth from his mouth, trying to convince his companions that the teenager was wrong with his claims.

He acted on instinct alone as he constantly shouted, causing his throat to start growing sore. He refused to go down without a fight. He refused to be voted as guilty by the others. He refused to die. Finally with one last rage filled insult, he demanded that Leon present what single thing could prove himself as the murderer. They didn't even know what the true murder weapon was, prompting the guitarist to think it was absurd for the red-head to assume he even had access to the weapon.  
Leon clenched his teeth as his body tensed. The way Kazuo was talking and acting was near identical to how he did when Makoto successfully identified him as the murderer. He didn't want to prove Kazuo as guilty; he didn't want the teen to suffer from the same fate that befell him. But unfortunately, he had no choice. He refused to throw away his second chance at life.

So with his nerves gathered and determination to live filling him, Leon finally responded "Monokuma said the culprit had broken the rule that forbid us from using our talents. If it truly was you, that would mean you would have had your guitar at the time Jin encountered you. I find it strange how someone who shown much excitement in playing the guitar didn't make a single comment about getting to play it once we discovered Jin had been murdered. So if you truly are not the murderer, then you should be able to answer this simple question. **Where's your guitar now?** "

At that moment, the guitarist fell speechless as despair filled him. Without a word, he slumped to his knees with fear painted clearly on his face. There was no use in hiding it anymore, it was far too late to trick anyone anymore. There was no way to hide that fact that he was the one to murder Jin Kaoru.

 _Jin frowned as she slowly followed Kazuo into the main factory room. She had heard his room door open and wanted to investigate. But when her eyes laid upon the red guitar he was carrying in his hands, she grew worried. She knew Kazuo clearly was angered with Monokuma's motive and would gladly defy the bear if it meant doing the thing he loved. Without a word, she took cautious steps into the main factory room, searching for any sign of the guitarist. It wasn't long until she finally saw him standing near one of the deactivated machines, strumming the strings on his guitar._

 _Her eyes widened in fear as she exclaimed "Kazuo, are you crazy?!"_

 _The orange-haired teen's body jumped in shock. He hadn't realized the fashion designer had followed him. He didn't want anyone to find out that he was intending to play the guitar in secret._

 _"Don't you know that Monokuma will kill you for breaking the rules! I don't want you to die! I don't want anyone die! Just... let's go tell the others about this, Kazuo. Maybe with their help, we can keep Monokuma from finding out and if he does find out, we'll do everything we can to protect you. I want to help everyone here, I want us all to escape together!" Jin pleaded with a small smile._

 _It would break her heart if she were to witness one of her friends die at Monokuma's hand. She wanted to make sure all her friends live and none of them fall victim to the Killing Games just like the others in the killing games of the past.  
Kazuo's heart pounded in fear from the girl's words. He didn't want to die, especially when he still had his whole life ahead of him. But he feared that by Jin telling the others, Monokuma would end up overhearing. He doubted his friends could protect him like the fashion designer claimed; he considered Monokuma too powerful._

 _His mind panicked at he watched the blonde-headed girl turn to walk away. He couldn't risk Monokuma discovering his secret. He needed to keep Jin from telling the others. He needed to insure she stayed silent. Acting on instinct alone, with a firm grip on the neck of his guitar, the orange-haired teen swung and smashed the guitar against the back of Jin's head. He breathed heavily as he watched the girl's body slam to the ground sideways with a large amount of blood pooling at her head. His entire body shook as he glanced down at the now broken guitar in his hands. Disgusted with the last resort he was forced to make, the teen dropped the guitar and started crying. It pained him to kill a girl as kind as Jin, but he had to do it in order to stay alive._

Kazuo remained motionless as he stared at his friends in shock, unaware of the tears that started dripping down his face. He had a choice to make that night. He could have easily let Jin live and trust her. But because of his fear, he had chose to take her life and now would pay the price.  
Seeing the the culprit was exposed, Monokuma announced the voting time portion of the class trial.  
Everyone felt guilty about the choice they were about to make, but it was clear Kazuo had to die. So without hesitation, everyone, but the guitarist himself, voted Kazuo as the culprit.

Monokuma couldn't help but laugh in amusement, loving the despair that seemed to hover over the each of the teenagers. He didn't waste any time declaring that everyone had been correct to vote Kazuo as the Blackened.

"So with that out of the way, it's time to get to the moment we've all been waiting for!" the bear laughed happily.

Out of desperation, Kazuo immediately stood up and pleaded "No! No! No! No! I can't die here! Please don't let me die here! I want to live! I want to become like my idol and become a popular rock and roll guitarist! I still want to live my life! Please don't kill me!"

"Too bad. You killed someone and you got caught. So with that said, I've prepared a very special punishment for Kazuo Tatsuo, the Ultimate Guitarist! So get ready..." Monokuma replied in a sinister yet demented tone.

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" the guitarist screamed at the top of his lungs.

But the bear ignored the teen's pleads and cries for mercy as he finally declared "IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!"

Kazuo let out one last scream of objection as the black and white bear pulled out his gavel and smashed it against the large red button before him. The teen trembled as his head glanced back and forth at his companions, seeing nothing but shocked and saddened faces. Suddenly, without warning, a metal collar with a chain hooked to it shot out from the darkness. The guitarist let out a pained gag as the collar clamped around his neck, his hands immediately jerking toward his neck in an attempt to pry the collar off.

Unfortunately the teen was unable to do anything as the collar jerked him backwards. A terrified scream managed to escape his lips while he was dragged through a pair of doors that immediately slammed close once he passed through them. His teeth clamped down tight, both from the pain of being pulled by his neck and his body occasionally smashing against the walls. It wasn't long till he finally felt something hard hit his back and metal cuffs clamp down around his wrists and ankles. He was confused where Monokuma had taken him until finally a spotlight shined down on him.

Kazuo's eyes widened in fear when he saw his body had been strapped onto a giant speaker that was set on a concert stage. From the corner of his eyes, he could see a wall lower to reveal his companions being forced to watch his execution from the other side of a metal fence. His heart pounded in fear when his eyes stared directly at the center of the stage, seeing Monokuma with a guitar in hand and wearing a fake brown mullet.

 **Guitar Solo: Kazuo Tastuo's Punishment**

With an excited and demented grin, Monokuma slammed his paw down on the guitar with all his might, prompting loud rock and roll music to emit from the giant speaker. Kazuo clenched his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut the moment the music blared in his ears, causing them to immediately start ringing. His teeth clenched down harder and harder as the music continued to get louder and louder as Monokuma continued playing. Then teen started having trouble breathing as the soundwaves pounded away against his body, creating immense pressure.

The music continued to constantly get louder, even managing to drown out Kazuo's screams of pain when his eardrums managed to burst. Kazuo's eyes were wide in pain, both from the pressure continuously pressing down on his body and his ears that now had blood leaking out of them. The painful process continued until Monokuma reached the end of his performance by smashing the guitar against the floor, breaking it in a single blow. With that smash, a loud blast of music blared from the giant speaker. Unable to take the pressure anymore, Kazuo's eyes went wide as a large amount of blood coughed forth from his mouth.

With silence filling the room once more, everyone stared in horror at the bloody and slumped body still pinned against the speaker. The teenager who loved rock and roll to the point he dedicated his whole life to it was killed by the very thing he loved. They had bare witnessed to the execution of Kazuo Tatsuo.

 **Killing Game Students - 13 Remain**


	7. Chapter 7 - Aftermath Recovery

Chapter 7

Leon felt like he could barely breathe as he stared at the scene before him. His heart pounded as Kazuo's screams echoed in his mind, unable to tear his eyes from the sight of the guitarist with blood dripping from his mouth and his lifeless brown eyes frozen wide in fear. His breath quickened as the memories of Kazuo's last moments repeatedly played in his mind. Seeing the teen plead for his life whilst in tears before being killed in a gruesome manner disturbed the red-head, especially since the teen's final moments reminded him of his own.

The nineteen year-old could barely acknowledge his surroundings as he began to hyperventilate. His eyes glanced around at the concerned and terrified faces focused on him, but he was unable to recognize them. All he could see was the deaths of Kazuo and Jin slowly morph into Sayaka's and his own. His body become numb as his surroundings slowly melted away, transforming into the batting cage that haunted his nightmares. His body trembled as he found himself staring at the automatic pitcher that claimed his life during his execution. He inhaled sharply as he saw the first baseball fired at him, before slipping into darkness.

Leon had no idea how long his mind drifted in the darkness; he no longer had any awareness of time passage nor his surroundings. He took in slow breaths, trying to calm himself until he felt something touch his cheek. He silently glanced up to see himself staring at concerned blue eyes and a saddened frown. The red-head grunted in comfort as he closed his eyes and leaned into the ghostly blue hand. He didn't know why, but the hand's touch seemed familiar, as if he had experienced its touch before. He remained silent as words from a somber voice filled his ears, urging him to awake once more.

Without warning, the teen's senses immediately returned within seconds. The baseball player groaned as he slowly blinked open his eyes, finding himself staring up at a white ceiling. He slowly turned his head, quickly learning that he was back in his own room and that Mineko was sitting at his bedside.  
Upon seeing the nineteen year-old awaken once more, Mineko sighed in relief as she unconsciously grabbed a hold of his hand.

"You're okay, that's a relief." the music composer confessed with a smile, "We were unsure what to think when you ended up panicking and passing out after seeing Kazuo's execution. Fortunately Dr. Yoshio and I decided to bring you back to your room and keep watch over you to insure that you were alright."

A frown flashed across Leon's face as the memories of the execution instantly rushed back to him. A frustrated sigh managed to escape his mouth as he ran his free-hand through his red hair.

Without even thinking, he muttered out loud "I despise that freaking bear. He didn't even give Kazuo a moment of peace to say his goodbyes or even prepare himself. He dragged him away, full of fear, just so he could plunge him into despair one last time. He may have killed Jin, but he didn't deserve to die, especially like that."

Minkeo's eyes glanced toward the floor in sadness. She found herself very saddened and disturbed by both Jin's and Kazuo's deaths. Neither of the teens deserved to die and she hated how their lives had been cut short by a horrible killing game. What made it even worse for her was the fact that neither of the teens' bodies could be properly buried. She hated the memory of Monokuma mocking with them laughter as he announced that he would be disposing the dead bodies. Her teeth clenched as her hand tightened around Leon's, earning a small yelp of pain from the teen.

Realizing what she had done, Mineko immediately released the baseball player's hand and apologized "Oh my god, I'm sorry, Leon, I hadn't realized... it's just..."

Before she could utter any more apologies, the door to Leon's room opened up to reveal Hisoka.  
The doctor smiled in relief upon seeing the red-head now sitting up on his bed awake before making his way over to him. Just like the others, he was completely stunned when he watched Leon suffer from another PTSD attack after Kazuo's death. It puzzled him deeply why the deaths of their two friends caused the baseball player to enter a frenzied panic. A part of him was curious to know why, but the other part didn't wish to know the answer if the tragic event left such a strong affect on the red-head.

Deciding to push aside his thoughts for the moment, the blonde-headed teen sat his bag on the floor and pulled over one of the spare chairs in the room. Without a word, he managed to take a few of his supplies out of his bag before turning toward then teen sitting on the bed.

"Glad to see you're up, Leon." he greeted in a friendly tone, "But if it's alright with you, I would like to do some check ups. Don't worry, it's just to make sure all your vitals are doing alright after that panic attack. Though it would be wise if you tell me about any other possible triggers you have. After all it's quite unhealthy to have to endure PTSD attacks in the first place. I want to make sure we avoid this morning's incidents as much as possible."

Upon hearing the doctor's words, Leon raised a brow in confusion as he asked "This morning's?"

Seeing he was confused, Mineko immediately spoke up "You've been passed out for most of the day, Leon. The class trial ended hours ago and it's almost officially nighttime. It's why we were all so worried after you had passed out."

The nineteen year-old groaned as he leaned his head back; he wasn't thrilled to learn that he had been unconscious for most of the day. Trying to recall exactly what happened before he passed out, Leon quickly searched through his memories. Though much to his surprise, he wasn't able to find much except for the memory of someone urging him to wake up. Believing it to have been simply Mineko, he quickly pushed the thought aside, not wanting to repeat the scenario where he had mistaken her for Sayaka during his dazed state.

Deciding to move his thoughts away from the events that reminded him of his own death, the red-head turned his attention toward the doctor currently checking his heart rate.

"Hey Hisoka, how did you get your title as the Ultimate Doctor anyway?" he asked out of curiosity, "Jin told me how she had gained hers before she died and I can figure how Hiroko earned hers, but I'm quite curious about yours. To be honest, I never expected a high school student to get such a high status in medical studies."

The blonde-headed teen paused in his actions upon hearing this. His brows lowered ever so slightly as determination seemed to fill his gray eyes.

Silence lingered in the air for a few second until finally the doctor spoke up "You both know about the Tragedy right? Most commonly known as 'The Biggest, Most Awful, Tragic Event in Human History'."

Leon flinched from the mention of the tragic event that plagued the Earth for years thanks to the very same demented high school girl that subjected him and his friends to the killing game. Partially to his relief, he couldn't quite recall the events that unfolded during the Tragedy, having only brief memories of it before his rebirth and being too young to recall the events after his rebirth. The only way he was able to find out exactly how horrible the event was through his mother who had endured through the entire thing.

He was drawn out of his thoughts as Hisoka continued "Well despite the Tragedy only lasting for about three years, it took the world much longer to heal. My mother was a nurse, having dedicated herself to those suffering during and after the Tragedy. Our home was practically transformed into a health ward, filled with many sick and injured people. The job was too much for my mother to do alone, so she had me and my siblings help once we were old enough. All those procedures and medical treatments ended up ingrained into my mind over the years. I couldn't forget them even if I wanted to."

A stern look formed on Leon's face as his body tensed slightly. Unlike Jin's tale, Hisoka's didn't carry a single tone of joy nor pride. Instead each word seemed to carry the sound of bitter acceptance.

"So what you're saying is that you never wished to become a doctor in the first place?" Mineko commented in shock, "With the way you've been worried about all of our health, I wouldn't have even noticed. You're so kind and calm when you help us, especially with Leon. You even seemed happy when he showed signs of recovering from his panic attack."

For a brief moment, a bitter yet pity filled smile managed to grace the blonde-headed teen's lips. He didn't regret becoming a doctor and is always happy to see his efforts managed to help someone, but the fact remained that the fate of becoming a doctor was still forced onto him rather than chosen. As much as he liked the idea of turning his back on his talent and seeking out a new one, he knew that was impossible with everyone recognizing him as an Ultimate. People now had expectations of him, expectations he couldn't bare to turn his back on.

"Being happy with one's wellbeing and being happy with one's job are two different things." he finally admitted, "I am very happy to insure everyone remains healthy because it's good to see someone in such a state. But despite me wanting to help others, it doesn't mean that I'm happy with my status. How can I know if I truly wanted to become the Ultimate Doctor if the role was forced upon me?"

Both Mineko and Leon remained silent at the doctor's confession. Only the red-head was able to understand how the nineteen year-old felt. He didn't love playing baseball like many believed, he only played it as a grim reminder of his past. He sighed as his thoughts drifted to Kazuo, remembering how the teenager showed much joy for his talent.

 _"Even in death he manages to make me feel envious of him."_ he thought to himself as he inhaled deeply through his nose, _"He even managed to become the thing I always wanted to become. Well... I wanted to become more of a vocalist, but the point still stands. Now I can't even pursue that dream with any happiness anymore, all because it reminds me of her. Now I'm stuck playing a sport I don't even enjoy playing and only reminds me of that horrible execution. Hey, at least it serves as a reminder. Should I be presented with the choice to screw up like how I did before I died, I'll always have baseball to remind not to be so... stupid."_

Before anyone could say anything else, the intercom finally turned on with Monokuma's nighttime announcement.  
Knowing it was time for him to return to his room, Hisoka finished up the last of his check ups on Leon before finally standing up once more and placing his supplies back in his bag. With a kind smile, he bid the teen goodnight as he left the room, leaving the music composer alone with the baseball player.

"Right, it's nighttime. So I suppose I should head back to room now." Mineko said in a slight nervous tone.

But the moment she stood up, much to her surprise, Leon immediately grabbed a hold of her wrist. Her eyes widened in shock as faint blush creeped on her face, confused why the teen was keeping her from leaving.

"Hey Mineko, before you go, I wanted to thank you." the red-head stated with a smile, "You didn't have to watch over me while I was unconscious to make sure I'm alright. I kind of appreciate that you did that though. Kind of makes me feel bad for causing you to be stuck in this stuffy room."

The music composer couldn't help but smile back as she replied "Don't worry, I didn't mind it at all. It was the least I could do after you did try to save me from the people that brought us here in the first place. Even though you failed, I'm still grateful that you tried. So of course I was more than happy to return the favor."

Without another word, the nineteen year-old released the girl's wrist and allowed her to leave the room. Once she was gone, he inhaled deeply made his way over to his door to lock it. The events of the murder and trial circled around his mind once more as he made his way back over to his bed, pulling off his shirt and jacket as he did so. He wasn't sure how he would do it, but he intended to uncover the Mastermind's identity. He only hoped that with the Mastermind exposed, he could end the killing game and avenge the deaths of his friends, just like Makoto did for him.

The next morning, Leon yawned whilst he made his way to the lunch room. He rubbed the back of his neck with a groan upon entering the room, managing to spot everyone except for the two teenagers that were no longer among the living. He glanced over at Isamu to see her hard at work on a small robot while munching on a piece of toast at the same time. The sight managed to cause the teenager to laugh a bit, glad that the robotics expert was back to her usual self now that she was allowed to work on robots again.

Suddenly his thoughts were shattered by a male voice yelling "Hey, good to see you awake and better!"

He turned to see Seiichi waving at him with a grin. It surprised him how friendly the wrestler was toward him and everyone around him. When he first laid eyes on the black-haired teen, he expected him to get on his nerves with his tough guy attitude, much like Mondo did in his previous life. But surprisingly, he learned that Seiichi was nothing like the bike gang leader. Instead, he considered the wrestler to be more of the friendly big brother type. Without a word, he simply waved back before grabbing himself some food for breakfast.

"So aside from Leon, did anyone else get a good night's sleep?" Hideaki asked with a sigh, "I admittedly found it hard after having to watch Kazuo's execution. Hard to believe both him and Jin are dead now."

"Shizko had to stay in my room last night." Kiyoshi admitted in a quiet tone, "I was worried that I was going to have nightmares. They aren't really that pleasant and tend to cause problems for me. Fortunately, I don't think I had any such nightmares last night. So I guess I did sleep alright."

Leon didn't bother to comment as he sat down at the table. He found revisiting the memories of Jin's and Kazuo's death to be quite unsettling and something he imagined neither he nor his companions would forget any time soon. He was fixing to take a bite out of his toast until he heard the sound of familiar laughter come from behind him. Acting on reflexes alone, he gasped in fear with a spin while jerking backwards to the point he was now sitting on top of the table with his legs curled up to his chest. His body stiffened when he found himself staring at the smug yet frightening grin of Monokuma once again.

"Bwahahaha! I swear it never gets old with you. I love how you scare easier than the others. It's just too hilarious!" the black and white bear laughed in amusement, quite thrilled that he managed to startle the baseball player once again.

Frustrated that the bear managed to catch him off guard again, the nineteen year-old snapped with a snarl "Shut up, Monokuma! Why are you even here? It better not be to mock us over Jin's and Kazuo's deaths!"

"Oh please, Ms. Goodie Two Shoes and Mr. Rocksalot are old news. How can two dead people give me the entertainment I desire?" Monokuma replied, "If you knew anything from the previous killing games, you would always know that new areas are opened up to the remaining contestants after each trial. So I came to tell you all that you now have access to the second floor of the factory, where more goodies await!"

For the first time during his encounters with the psychotic bear, the red-head raised his brows in surprise. Due to being the first murderer in his previous killing game, he had no idea that new areas were gifted to the survivors. The only thing he heard about his old killing game was the names of those that had lost their lives to the twisted event.

"So the more trials we go through, the more things we have access to. Well now I have two things to look forward to during the class trials, the executions and the benefits we gain." Toshiro noted in a pleased tone.

Naoko's face turned pale from his companion's comment as he replied "Man, could you like not talk about the executions. It was awful to see Kazuo die, in fact I think I'm terrified of speakers now! Didn't his death at least disturb you in the slightest? For crying out loud, we watched him get killed by loud music of all things!"

The director simply chuckled in response to the teen's question before answering "Don't get me wrong. Kazuo's execution was absolutely horrifying."

He took a pause as his hand grasped his chin; a mischievous yet cunning look shining in his eyes as he continued "But regardless of my feelings, I can't deny the creativity that went into the execution itself. It would make quite the marvelous scene in a horror film. With such creativity, I wonder what executions the Mastermind has planned out for all of us, should any more of us become blackened. I'm especially curious what the punishment for the 'Ultimate Sprint Runner' would be. Perhaps something akin to the 'Ultimate Bike Gang Leader's' own execution."

The ginger-headed inhaled sharply as his fingers dug into his hair. He didn't want to imagine any of the executions of his remaining friends, especially his own.

"I don't want to get turned into butter!" he managed to whimper in fear.

Toshiro opened his mouth to reply to the sprint runner's comment, only to find himself harshly punched in the shoulder. A yelp of pain managed to escape his mouth while he fell out of his seat. Curious of who had punched him, he lifted his head up to see Hideyo glaring at him. He noticed that despite the teenage girl calmly taking a sip from her drink, her purple burned with rage. Growing frightened of the stunt actress' glare, the nineteen year-old swallowed hard before returning to his seat.

"While it's amusing to see ya chumps bicker among yourselves, I've got things to do. So I'll be seeing ya again when I feel like shaking things up a bit again. Later!" Monokuma stated before leaving the room.

Happy to see the bear was gone once again, Leon sighed as he slid off the top of the table. No matter how many times he experienced it, he couldn't get use to the bear's sudden appearance. Especially due his fear of Monokuma appearing and announcing his punishment. He understood the demented bear had no reason to punish him if he doesn't murder nor break the rules, but the fear of losing his life to the very game that claimed it in the first place still lingered.

"Well, I suppose that we should check out the second floor after we finish eating." Shizko stated as she mindlessly poked her fork at her eggs, "The things we may find could come in quite useful. Should it be for our own benefits or to prevent another murder from happening. I think we all agree that we want no one to end up like Kazuo."

Everyone in the lunch room nodded their heads agreement, believing it to be best to try to avoid another murderous scenario. Monokuma's first motive ended up costing them the lives of two of their friends; they could only hope they could fight against the bear's second motive when it came time for its announcement. Without another word, the group of teenagers quickly finished up their breakfest and headed for the stairway, wondering what awaited them on the factory's second floor.


	8. Chapter 8 - Exploration and Motives

Chapter 8

It didn't take long for the group to ascend the set of stairs and arrive at the second floor of the factory. Leon didn't say a word as his head glanced around at his surroundings, noting the the second floor didn't have much difference from the first except for more doors and large windows that were barred off. Unsure what else to do, the red-head walked over to one of the doors and opened it up. Slightly to his surprise, he saw the door had led to none other than a washing room.

"I suppose before the factory was abandoned, workers would wash their uniforms in here in case of any accidental mishaps." Hiroko noted as she entered the room, her ruby eyes narrowed as she studied every single detail.

"Well at least we can wash the clothes we're wearing now. Can't believe Monokuma didn't even bother to provide us extra clothes." Toshiro complained as he opened up the washer, "Then again, not being able to change clothes is how we figured out Kazuo was the culprit. With no way to replace our clothing items, I bet he really had to scavenge until he found those pair of shoes. Too bad for him that the shoes' color were wrong, but at least he provided an entertaining execution."

Leon grunted as he glared at the brown-headed teen examining the washer. It still deeply angered him how the director casually talked about the deaths of their friends and showed no care nor concern about the situation he's in. He had to wonder if the arrogant teen was even aware that his attitude would only give someone all the more reason to murder him, just like Monokuma would want. Deciding that he no longer wished to be in the same room as Toshiro, the red-head left the washroom to explore the rest of the second floor.

Not too far away, he managed to spot Kiyoshi in the hallway. He could see the girl's were twinkling in excitement as she dug around in a supply closet. Curious of what the teenage girl had found, he silently approached her to see she had found shelves of paint supplies.

"I can't believe someone left all these paints behind. I'm so tempted to use them to paint cartoons on the walls in my room." the blue-haired girl commented whilst spinning in joy, "Monokuma never did say decorating our rooms is against the rules. It will help take my mind off of this horrible game and give me something fun to do!"

Leon was surprised how much joy the girl before him was expressing. Up until that point, he had only ever seen the cartoonist show fear and shyness. He had never imagined the girl could almost rival Isamu's excitement whenever she started talking about her favorite anime. Though the red-head suddenly found himself drawn away from his thoughts, when the cartoonist offered for him to help paint her room later that day. Upon hearing this request, he jolted back a bit, both in surprise and confusion.

"Come on Leon, it will be fine!" Kiyoshi urged with a smile, "I figured you could use the cheering up. Seeing you in a panicked state twice is quite worrying. So I figure a painting session will cheer you up. It's something that cheers me up at least. Please accept, it'll be a fun experience for you, me, and Kioyoshi."

The baseball player couldn't help but raise his brows in surprise at the mention of the sculptor. It honestly shocked him how the teenage girl before him managed to befriend the one that seemed distant from everyone. While he knew Shizko had expressed her feelings to the others already, examples being when she got mad at Toshiro and the fear she felt from watching Kazuo's execution, the teen seemed to mostly prefer being alone. He even recalled Kiyoshi explaining that detail to the deceased guitarist after his failed flirting attempt.

Deciding to push away the questions floating in his mind about the sculptor aside, Leon finally accepted Kiyoshi's request. The idea of painting a room didn't sound like much fun too him, but he was willing to do any activity if it helped take his mind off the Killing Game. The nineteen year-old couldn't help but smile when he saw the light-blue-haired girl nod her head happily in response before returning her attention to the supply closet. Wanting to explore the rest of the second floor, Leon continued to make his way down the hallway.

For the most part, his search came up fruitless, only encountering locked doors or empty rooms. He was about to turn back until the sound of a door opening reached his ears. Without any hesitation, he quickly turned toward the sound to see Hisoka and Hideaki entering the door they had opened. Leon hummed in intrigue as he shortly followed after the two, wondering if they had discovered something. Sure enough, the athlete's mouth dropped open in surprise when he saw the two teens had found a nurse's office.

Hisoka didn't utter a word as he searched the supply cabinets. The room's existence didn't surprise him much since he knew the workers of the factory would have needed a place to treat emergency wounds. What puzzled him was the fact the cabinets contained fresh medical supplies despite the office it self showing no signs of anyone using it since the factory had been abandoned.

"Well this can be a useful yet dangerous room." Hideaki commented as he picked up a pill bottle off the shelf, "The shelves seemed to be stocked for any kind of medicine to treat sicknesses. Monokuma wasn't kidding when he said he wanted us to survive."

The forensicist's nose scrunched up in disgust at the last few words he uttered from his mouth. It angered and disturbed him that the robotic bear was insuring all the teens' cares and needs were taken care of, but only long enough till they either died from being murdered or executed.

"If you're worried about someone using medical kits as a weapon or certain medicines for murder, don't worry. As a sign of trust, I will be the only one to remove any medical supplies from this room." the doctor insured, "You won't have to worry about trusting me since should someone die from these means, I will be the only possible culprit. That would be unwise on my part of course."

"Great, just do me a favor doc and don't talk like you're already considering murder." Leon noted in a slight bitter tone with his arms crossed.

Hisoka fell silent at the red-head's words. It was true the way he worded himself made it sound like he was already considering to murder someone. Fortunately though, he was considering no such thing, especially with Kazuo's execution still fresh in his memory. But regardless of that fact, the blonde-headed teen still wished to use the room for his own purpose. The room would provide the perfect place for him to carry out more examinations on his companions. Over the few days he had come to know them, aside from Leon, he had noticed that some of the teens seemed to exhibit health and mental problems.

One case had especially caught the doctor's attention concerning one of the teens. He frowned as he recalled the memory of passing by the teen's room to hear the sound of violent coughing. It worried him to see the teen was trying to hide this fact from the others, but believed they had kept it hidden for a reason. The nineteen year-old couldn't figure what that reason could be, but chose to respect it regardless. He only hoped the teen would allow him to treat the problem once he confronted them about their health issue.

Believing he had been silent for too long, Hisoka smiled to Leon as he insured "Don't worry, Leon. Monokuma won't break me that easily. Besides I've already made it clear what my intentions are. I just want to make sure everyone stays healthy and sane. It's my job as the Ultimate Doctor after all. Should I succumb to the murdering urge, feel free to punch me before I'm dragged of to my execution."

The red-head slightly smiled back in return, but it wasn't quite a happy one, rather a nervous one. He understood the doctor was only joking with the last of his words, but the thought of the killings disturbed him. Every single day he remained trapped in the factory put him in risk of dying. He didn't wish to murder anyone, especially after it being the reason he died in the first place. But he knew that didn't stop the possibility of someone trying to murder him, a thought that deeply terrified him.

With a sigh as he rubbed his neck, he replied "I'll take your word for it, Hisoka. Anyways I think I'll head back my room. I'm kind of itching to toss a baseball around a bit."

The moment those words left the teen's mouth, Hideaki jumped in surprise and immediately commented "That's weird. From seeing you flinch when Monokuma brought up the subject the other day, I thought you hated baseball. Was Monokuma lying?"

Leon froze whilst his face turned pale; realization of the words that managed to slip from his mouth hitting him like a ton of rocks. He clenched his teeth as one of his old memories during his previous killing game resurfaced. He could remember clearly himself running his hands through his red-head as he confessed to Makoto his urge to play baseball. He didn't understand it then and he couldn't understand it now. He convinced himself that he only chose to play the sport because he wanted it to serve as reminder for his past mistake. Yet regardless of how much the execution terrified him, there was a part of him that seemed to yearn to play the sport. Almost as if, he still truly loved the sport despite what had happened.

The nineteen year-old found himself drawn out his thoughts by Hideaki asking "Leon, you okay bud? You got pretty quiet there for a moment. Everything alright?"

The red-head grunted as he shook his head, clearing his thoughts before answering "Yeah, I'm fine. Look, it's too complicated to explain. Anyways, I'll see you guys later."

Not wanting to give the forensicist a chance to reply, the nineteen year-old quickly left the room.

Meanwhile in an unknown part of the factory, a dark figure watched the security screens with interest. They couldn't help but be filled with curiosity at how defensive Leon got over his friend's question. Silently they turned away from the security screens toward a pile of files laying on the table. Each file had the name of one of the participants printed on them along with a picture of them clipped on the front. The only two files that were different were the ones for Kazuo and Jin by having a large stamp reading "Dead" placed on the front of them.

The figure paid little mind to the folders for the two deceased teens as they pushed the files aside to reveal one for Leon. They hummed to themselves as they opened up the folder, revealing it held almost every single personal info on the nineteen year-old and even contained photos of him at school, at home, and even at baseball games.

"Tells me he hates the sport, yet he still puts in the dedication. Leon Saisei, you are quite the mystery." the figure noted to themselves with a smirk, "Out of everyone, you fear me the most and you seem to have way too much experience for someone that's currently experiencing his first killing game. Regardless though, you will crumble like the rest of your friends. It's only a matter of time till someone cracks again. After all, Junko Enoshima proved even the strongest of wills can surrender to despair."

Silently the figure placed the file back on the desk and made their way over to a control panel. A dark grin crept onto their face as they pushed a red button, activating a voice changer for the intercom system. An excited yet demented look seemed to shine in the figures eyes as they grabbed a hold of the microphone.

"Puhuhu! I think it's time for another motive and Leon Saisei gives me an idea for what that motive should be!" they stated with glee before finally activating the intercom system.

A few minutes later, the remaining teens groaned in frustration as they made their way to the Business Room. They all had heard Monokuma's demand for their gathering over the intercoms, causing them to dread his announcement. There was no doubt in their mind that the robotic bear intended to announce yet another motive in an attempt to try to drive one of them to resort to murder.

"Figures that he would lack any kind of patience. That damn bear just wants to constantly keep driving us toward murder." Isas bitterly stated, "He's crazy if he thinks we'll just immediately kill someone over his motive like Kazuo did. We all saw what Kazuo's choice led to. Why would we want to repeat his mistake? None of us want to be in that horrible situation."

"Murdering someone immediately after receiving the motive is a poor decision as it would be placing a death wish on one's self." Hiroko noted in a cold yet professional tone, "Kazuo should have learned from the previous examples in killing games of the past. None of the culprits that were driven to commit murder were able to successfully get away with it. All of them ended up executed for their deed, much like Kazuo. Not to mention, Jin's murder was mostly only possible due to our own carelessness."

Leon remained silent as his fists clenched slightly. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew the speech debater was correct with her claim. He inhaled deeply as he recalled how he desperately tried to save himself after murdering Sayaka, only to get caught in the end. No matter the circumstances, he understood that everyone in the deadly game wished to survive and in order to do it, they would do anything in their power to find the true culprit. With so many people all working toward the same goal, the culprit has no chance of hiding their deed.

 _"Wish I had realized that before I ended up murdering Sayaka. I could have stopped myself from making such a stupid and cowardly decision. Now I'm stuck with haunting memories to remind me of my guilt."_ he thought to himself with a frown.

The red-head was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Naoko comment "No kidding. Honestly guys, I really don't want to get executed and turned into butter. I mean, that's horrifying!"

"Oh for the love of... how do you even know that would happen? You're only saying that because of Toshiro's stupid comment! I seriously doubt you would be turned into butter like Mondo Owada. You're not even a biker!" Hideyo replied in an annoyed tone.

The group of teens continued to chatter among themselves, desperately trying to keep their thoughts off their inevitable meeting with Monokuma. It wasn't long till they had finally reached the room they were dreaded.  
Leon took in calm breathes the moment he was greeted the sight of Monokuma sitting on top of his desk, snickering as he held a large box. He didn't know why, but it seemed the bear's laugh unnerved him more than usual.

"Well if it's my favorite group of thirteen teenagers! Use to be fifteen but we all know what happened to those two. Bwahaha!" the black and white bear taunted with glee.

"So I assume we've been gathered here for yet another motive." Kiyoshi replied with a frown, doing her best to hide the fear she felt.

Monokuma laughed in delight from seeing how terrified the teenage girl was of him. But that fear didn't amuse him as much as Leon's, a fear he never found himself grown tired of. The bear wasted no time as he opened up the box to reveal a pile of envelopes with everyone's name on each. His grin grew ever so larger in excitement whilst he handed each participant their respective envelope.  
Leon's pale-blue eyes focused intensely on the envelope placed in his hands. A part of him feared what kind of info lay inside, especially after hearing tales of how his old classmates received envelopes that contained their darkest secrets.

Swallowing his fear and knowing he had little choice in the matter, he finally opened up the envelope. But once he did this, the red-head's eyes widened as his body trembled. Inside the envelope was none other than a note detailing his worst fear of a baseball being thrown at him. Many thoughts ran through his mind as he felt like the entire world started spinning. He didn't understand how Monokuma was able to gain such information. His fear was only known by few, his parents and his coach. He had never told of anyone of his fear due to the worry of the fact he would have to explain how he developed such a fear.

Without even think, the athlete muttered in shock "How could you even know that? Not even the people watching my games were able to figure it out. So how did you learn this?

The black and white bear chuckled with his paws firmly placed over his mouth.

"I could explain how I managed to learn all your worst fears, but don't feel like it. Instead I'd rather tell you chumps what I intend to do with those worst fears." Monokuma replied in a smug yet delighted tone, "So here's the deal. Each time a day passes by without a murder happening, one of you will be subjected to your worst fear. So unless you want to be haunted by your deepest and darkest fear, I suggest you get killing!"

Leon was speechless with his body frozen in fear. He didn't want to repeat his past mistake of murdering someone, yet he was unsure how he could deal with the fear that reminded him of his own execution. He glanced around to see his friends were just as terrified from receiving their own envelopes. He clenched his teeth in anger as the sound of Monokuma's laughter reached his ears, giving him even more reason to despise the robotic bear. He didn't want another murder to take place, but at the same time, he couldn't deny a small part of him was hoping for one.


	9. Chapter 9 - Painting Memories

Chapter 9

Leon was unsure what to think as he lay on his bed, staring up at the white ceiling. It had been a few hours since Monokuma revealed the second motive, but the words still dwell in the teen's mind. He and everyone else couldn't understand how Monokuma managed to gained such personal info. In his previous killing game, he could understand how Junko was able to gain such info. The demented teenage girl had known the participants for over two years at that point and there was the fact she had access to the school files.

But the red-head knew that scenario was impossible for the current Killing Game he's forced to play, simply because all the participants were truly strangers this time. None of them were secretly friends that all attended the same school and got their memories erased, they were all strangers that had been selected for unknown reasons. Leon clenched his frustration as he threw his pillow over his face, growing more annoyed at the questions that seemed to constantly fill his mind. He could care less about the Mastermind and their reasons; all he wished for was the Killing Game to come to an end.

Silence filled the room until it was shattered by the sound of knocking. The baseball player groaned whilst pulling the pillow off his face, not looking forward to the idea of visitors. With a heavy and tired sigh, the nineteen year-old got off the bed and made his way over to the door. A few grumbles managed to escape his mouth as he opened the door. It only surprised him slightly when he was greeted with the sight of a smiling Kiyoshi.

"So Leon, ready to get to work?" she asked in a kind tone.

"Ready for what?" Leon muttered, not bothering to hide the exhaustion in his voice as he rubbed his hand across his face.

The moment she heard those words, the light-blue haired teen frowned in disappointed.

"Don't tell me you forgot?" she said with her hands firmly planted on her hips, "You agreed to help me and Shizko paint my room. You can't be backing down because of what Monokuma said? I'm scared of the motive too, but staying cooped up in your room is only giving him exactly what he wants. If we want to beat Monokuma, we need to follow Jin's example. Staying happy and sane is the best way to prevent another murder."

The red-head yawned in response to the girl's statement. He didn't care if Monokuma was delighted by his situation. He was stressed out and the only remedy he knew of was taking a nap; a habit he carried over from his previous life. Unfortunately, before he could turn back to close the door, Kiyoshi managed to snatch his arm. He yelped in surprise as the teenage girl managed to hook her arm around his and drag him out of his room.

"Don't be such a baby, Leon. You promised and you're going to help. It's for your own good anyway." the cartoonist insisted.

Despite the numerous objections spilling from Leon's mouth, he was unable to convince his friend from dragging him alongside her. After a few minutes, the nineteen year-old managed to spot the door to the cartoonist's room in the distant. Much to his surprise, he saw Shizko was already waiting out side of the room with a few brushes and paint buckets in hand. He wasn't expecting for the sculptor to arrive on her own freewill, he figured that she would have to been either convinced or dragged along much like him.

"Glad to see you here, Shizko!" Kiyoshi greeted happily, "Did you get the things we'll need for the room from the supply closet?"

The silver-haired teen nodded her head whilst shaking the bucket around in her hand a bit.  
Seeing they were set, the cartoonist didn't waste anytime opening the door and allowing her companions inside.  
Leon raised a brow in interest when he saw the room was decorated with an assortment of papers, pencils, and sketches; a room he considered befitting for the Ultimate Cartoonist.

Kiyoshi took in a deep breath with a bright smile on her face, her turquoise eyes shimmering with glee.

"Alright let's get to work. Careful not to spill the paint, I couldn't find anything to use for covers and I really didn't feel like asking Monokuma." the nineteen year-old ordered in a stern tone, "I'll handle the cartoon images. You two can paint parts of the walls white so I can draw the outline of the cartoons once the paint dries. This is going to be so much fun!"

Leon rolled his pale-blue eyes before picking up one of the paint buckets containing white paint. Due to not being too thrilled at the idea of painting, the teenager allowed his eyes to glance at the sketches lying scattered around the room. Much to his confusion, the sketches seemed strange and foreign to him. Instead of the typical anime art style he was familiar with, the cartoon sketches were more on the unrealistic side. His brows furrowed together as he closely studied the pictures, not understanding why most of them consist of cartoonish cats and mice.

Suddenly his attention was snapped away from the sketches when he heard Shizko comment "You are aware this task would go by faster if you helped me paint like Kiyoshi asked you to."

The red-head jolted in surprise with a nervous grin. The sound of the silver-haired girl's frightened him a bit since she hadn't spoken until that moment.

Only needing a few seconds to calm down, he replied "I hear ya. I was just looking at Kiyoshi's sketches over here. The art style seems different from the shows I watched as a kid and it kind of confused me."

Having heard the baseball player's statement, the cartoonist giggled in reply "That's because it's not based off the anime art style we know and love. I based the style off of western cartoons."

Kiyoshi let out a sigh that seemed both happy yet depressed as she explained the history behind her sketches to her friends. When she was a young child, her father often had to go overseas for his work. But every time he returned home, he always brought back souvenirs from the west. The teenage girl could remembered being puzzled by some of the things her father brought home, but the things that intrigued her the most were the DVDs of cartoon collections. She could clearly remember the amazement and intrigue that filled her as she watched bizarre antics of a cat and mouse, a sly rabbit, or even sometimes a duck with anger issues.

"To this day, I'm not too good with making friends. I just really don't know how to interact with everyone since I tend to get nervous a lot." the light-blue-haired girl admitted as she rubbed her arm, "So this caused me to have a lot of free time as a child. So I mostly ended up watching the cartoons my dad brought home. They were so amazing, so different from our animations, I couldn't help but be drawn to it. One day when I was watching some tanukis that often roam around my house, I decided to sketch one in the style of a western cartoon."

She smiled as the memory of her sketching away in her book, filling the pages with cartoon pictures of tanukis. She could clearly remember the love and care that went into each sketch, prompting her to create more and more.

"I kept sketching and it wasn't long that my parents and the staff at my school took notice of my talent." she continued in a quieter tone, "My skill only kept increasing until finally I reached the point where I was officially recognized as an Ultimate. Once I became an Ultimate, my entire life changed. Suddenly people wished to speak to me, learn more about my status as an Ultimate. I was more than happy to share my joy with my fellow students. I was even happy when the principal informed me that he was considering informing Hope's Peak Acamedy's scout of my existence because it meant I could share my talent with even more people. If it weren't for cartoons, I would still be that socially awkward girl that had nothing to talk about."

Leon couldn't prevent the sad smile forming on his face from hearing the girl's tale. While he understood how her joy in how her talent helped her befriend people she normally couldn't, he could tell from her quiet tone that a part of her was saddened to become an Ultimate. He knew that part of her regretted her status as an Ultimate all because of the Killing Game they were forced to play. After all, they were all taken because of their status as Ultimates.

"Kiyoshi... I had no idea." Shizko commented in surprise, stirring the red-head from his thoughts, "From the way you approached me, I would have never imagined that you struggled to make friends."

Kiyoshi smiled as she confessed "I totally understand. To tell you the truth, I'm still on the socially awkward side. I do want to become good friends with everyone here, but it's kind of tricky when some don't care to hear about my enthusiasm for cartoons. One of those people being Toshiro."

The sculptor huffed angrily at the mention of the Ultimate Director. She didn't understand why the cartoonist wanted to befriend an arrogant teen that seemed only concerned with ideas that he could turn into a film. It especially annoyed her with how much interest and intrigue he seemed to show for the Killing Game. Sometimes she even wondered if he could possibly be the Mastermind behind the Killing Game. Pushing away her annoyed thoughts, she turned toward the light-blue-haired girl with a small smile.

"Sometimes I wonder if I even deserve a friend like you. Normally I don't like any kind of relationships, but you're the exception. I can confidently say that I am happy to have you as a friend. I promise you, Kiyoshi, we will get out of this thing alive. No matter what."

Leon couldn't help but smile at the sight of the two friends. At first the idea of someone befriending the sculptor seemed unlikely due to the fact she preferred solitude, but now he could see he was wrong. He didn't utter a word as the two girls began chatting happily among themselves, discussing the things they would do once they all finally escaped the factory. The only thing he wished for was that their wish came true; that they could all escape together. Though as much as a part of him hoped for that outcome, a small part of him doubted himself.

It took a few hours, but the trio managed to finish painting the room. Leon laughed at the sight of Kiyoshi proudly admiring her cartoons with paint all over her school uniform.

"Looks like you got pretty carried away there. Shizko and I managed to not get a single drop of paint on our clothes, yet you're practically covered in it." he smirked with his arms crossed.

Kiyoshi rolled her eyes as she playfully hit Leon on the arm. She couldn't help herself, especially since she was pouring her love and devotion into those paintings. Figuring she might as well clean her clothes, she headed up to the washroom.  
Not wanting her to be alone, Shizko quickly followed after the girl while dragging along a surprised Leon behind her. She didn't wish for the cartoonist to be alone, especially due to the fact that was what allowed Kazuo to murder Jin.

It didn't take long for the three to reach the washroom on the second floor. But much to their surprise, the room had changed from when last they saw it. Along with the washer and dryer, there was now a chair in the corner with a single yellow jumpsuit draped over it and a note.  
Without any hesitation, Kiyoshi walked over to the chair and picked up the note. A part of her wondered if it was the motive Monkuma mentioned earlier, but she quickly brushed aside that thought when she remembered that a full day hadn't quite passed.

Curious of what the note contained, she began reading out loud "So since you chumps have nothing to wear while your clothes wash, I did some digging and found this jumpsuit. You can wear it while waiting for your clothes to finish washing. Don't take the jumpsuit since there is only one of them, in fact I'll add it to the rule list. Since there is only one jumpsuit, that means only one person can wash their clothes at a time. So if someone is already using the washroom, you'll have to wait your turn. Don't like it? Too bad, you got to deal with it. Be seeing you chumps around. Yours truly, Monokuma."

"One person at a time, but there's thirteen of us. Of course that bear is too lazy to even provide substitute clothes and instead gives us some dirty jumpsuit." Shizko voiced her frustration.

Seeing she had little choice in the matter, Kiyoshi sighed whilst she picked up the jumpsuit. Without a word, she walked in the nearby restroom and closed the door. The sound of shuffling clothes filled the air for a few moments until finally the cartoonist reemerged from the restroom, now dressed in the yellow jumpsuit.  
Leon struggled to hold back his laughter from seeing the sight of Kiyoshi with the jumpsuit's pant legs bunched up around her feet at the sleeves rolled up. Unfortunately he wasn't able to hold them back as he started laughing, earning a pout from the light-blue-haired girl.

"It's not my fault that the jumpsuit is too big. Monokuma is the one who got it. Obviously whoever owned this jumpsuit before was much taller than me." Kiyoshi said as she struggled to keep the sleeves up.

But despite the girl's words and a few glares from Shizko, the red-head continued to laugh. He couldn't help himself; he found the sight too amusing. Seeing that his presence was no longer required, his laughter slowly died down before he headed back to his room. After managing to have fun and learn a bit about the cartoonist herself, Leon was glad that Kiyoshi had dragged him out of his room. Had he stayed inside, he most likely would have still been disturbed by Monokuma's motive. He smiled upon realizing that the teen girl's claims were correct; he truly did feel better.

The happiness that once filled the air immediately disappeared the next day. Leon inhaled deeply as he struggled to keep himself from slipping into another panic attack. He and the rest of the participants were ordered to gather in the main factory room by Monokuma for the motive. He knew that since a day had passed without anyone getting murdered, one of them would be selected to be subjected to their worse fear. In attempt to distract himself, his eyes glanced over to the area where Jin's body was found.

His fists clenched slightly when he saw that Monokuma had stayed true to his word. Jin's body was nowhere in sight and all traces of the murder Kazuo committed were removed. It was all cleaned up as if there was never a murder in the first place. His thoughts of frustration and fear only increased when Monokuma finally arrived.  
The bear grunted as he carried in a large metal safe. He huffed ands wheezed as he struggled to carry the object in his arms, especially with it being much larger than him. But despite his struggles, he managed to carry the safe to the center of the room. With one last grunt, the black and white bear dropped the safe on the floor, causing a loud smash to echo throughout the room.

"Geez, why did one of you have to fear a safe of all things? I nearly killed myself trying to carry this thing!" Monokuma complained in an exhausted tone, "Well at least I can get back at you by having you subjected to your worst fear. After all, we both know why you fear this safe."

Leon was confused at who the demented bear was referring to until the sound of frantic breathing reached his ears. He turned to see none other Naoko trembling in fear.  
The sprint runner's face turned pale as his body kept shaking. He was already terrified of the fact Monokuma knew his worst fear, but it terrified him even more that he was chosen as the first to be subjected to their worst fear. He wanted to run out of the room immediately, anything to keep himself from being forced to face his fear. Unfortunately the ginger-headed teen knew that action would be pointless. By being trapped in a factory with no escape, it would only be a matter of time before the psychotic bear tracks him down and drags him back to the Main Factory room.

Fear and despair filled the teen's heart as he swallowed the lump in his throat. With a small bit of hesitation, he silently made his way over to Monokuma. His body flinched upon hearing the bear's laughter fill his ears. He didn't need to guess to know Monokuma was quite pleased that he approached with little to no convincing.

"My, aren't you the eager one?" Monokuma taunted happily, "I didn't have to try to threaten you or anything. If you're this smart to realize going against me is pointless, makes me wonder why you're still dumb enough to say stupid things."

Naoko didn't reply to the bear's comment. Instead he squeezed his eyes shut as his breath quickened slightly.

"Not talking eh? How disappointing, you're making me bored already. Well let's get this over with." the black and white bear grumbled.

Without another word, the small bear pulled out a key with the handle shaped like his head and opened up the safe. He didn't even give the teenager a chance to react as he shoved him into the safe. He snickered in slight amusement when he noticed the teen's face was frozen in fear before slamming the safe close. Having closed and locked up the safe, a timer flashed on the safe's door, showing the total of twelve hours.

"Why did you lock Naoko up in a safe? He'll suffocate in there. I thought you told us that you had no interest in killing us." Isamu asked out of worry, doing her best to hide the fear in her voice.

"Man, you're pretty clueless for a robotics expert." Monokuma replied in an annoyed tone, "It's his worst fear obviously! He's a sprint runner that loves running. You should know, the two of you were practically freaking out together during my first motive. You were so in sync that I think racer boy over there got a bit jealous."

Isas snarled with his silver eyes narrowed hatefully at demented bear.

"Anyways..." the bear continued in more of a smug tone, "Naoko Yukio's worst fear is apparently to be trapped in a small place that doesn't allow him to run. He can't stand the thought of being forced into a small cramped space. So what small cramped space is more perfect than a safe? But if you're concerned about the air problem, don't worry about it. I made sure to put a few holes in the walls, that way he can still get air. Though can't do anything about the food and water problem. Hope he likes going hungry and thirsty for twelve hours. Puhuhu!"

"How can you be so heartless?! You know what kind of health problem you can give him? It's bad enough this whole killing game is messing with our psyches, but now you plan you do things like this! Why are you doing this! You're not Junko Enoshima and you're not a Remnant of Despair! So why are you making us go through with this?!" Hisoka yelled, surprising his companions with the rage he expressed.

The bear remained silent for a few seconds before he slowly began to laugh. His laughter grew louder and louder until it was the only thing that could be heard throughout the room. He continued to laugh as he watched some of the students grow unnerved at the sound of his laughter. He didn't intend to give them any kind of answer, he simply found it more amusing to watch each of the teens stumble and wobble as they tried to wrap their minds around the reason for their gathering. Wanting to continue to be amused, he continued to laugh as he left the room, leaving the group of teenagers even more confused and frightened at the mystery surrounding the Mastermind.


	10. Chapter 10 - Relationships

Chapter 10

Leon was unable to tear his gaze away from the locked safe that contained Naoko. While he didn't share the teen's fear of cramped spaces, he didn't want to imagine the immense panic and fear the sprint runner was currently suffering from. He watched as Seiichi run over to the safe and tried prying the door open. His eyes glanced to the side guilty, not wishing to watch the wrestler's failed attempts to open the safe. The nineteen-year let out a sigh as he ran his hand through his red hair, unsure what to do. He didn't want to leave Naoko trapped in the safe for twelve hours, but he couldn't see how he could free the sprint runner without the key Monokuma possessed.

Suddenly, without warning, Leon yelped out in surprise when he felt a hand harshly shove him to the side slightly. His head snapped toward the safe once more to see Hiroko silently approaching it.  
The women maintained her professional appearance as she gently placed her hand on Seiichi's chest, prompting the black-haired teen to turn his head toward her.

"Allow me to take care of this." she commanded in an tone full of authority yet with a hint of kindness.

Seiichi's eyes widened as he backed away slightly, stunned that he found himself compelled to obey the teen's authoritative presence.  
Seeing the wrestler gave her the space she required, the speech debater took in a deep breath before kneeling down next to the safe. Her eyes managed to spot the holes Monokuma had drilled into the safe, prompting her to lean close to them.

She composed herself with another deep breath and said "Naoko, are you able to hear me? Respond in any way you can."

Silence lingered in the air for a few moments until it was shattered by the sound of light tapping. Hiroko closed her eyes in satisfaction. As long as Naoko was able to respond to her words, she was able to confirm he was alive. Unsure whether he refused to speak out of fear or simply because it proved difficult in the safe, the purple-headed girl wasn't too bothered by her uncertainty. All that mattered to her was making sure that Naoko was still sane despite the situation he had been placed in.

She reopened her eyes, showing clear determination in them while she said "Listen very closely to me, Naoko. There's no way we can get you out of the safe without Monokuma's key. What matters is that you stay calm. I know it's hard, but panicking would only worsen the situation. I promise you that we will get you the moment your twelve hours are up. Tap three times if you understand what I'm telling you."

No one dared to say a word as to not accidentally prevent Hiroko from hearing the response. It only took a few seconds for the sound of three taps to echo throughout the room. Satisfied with the response, the speech debater stood up once more. She folded her hands neatly in front of her as she made her way back to the group. Her face didn't show any signs of emotion, only the expression of professionalism. Without a word, the teenage girl left the room.

Everyone stared at each other in shock, stunned by what they witnessed until Hideaki finally commented "That's my Hiroko. Knows when to keep a cool head during situations. You got to admit, you have to love that aspect about her."

Deciding that it was best to pass time until twelve hours were up, everyone went their separate ways. Leon found himself mindlessly roaming the halls of the abandoned factory. Every minute that passed by that Naoko remained in the safe felt ages to the red-head. He couldn't prevent thoughts of rage, worry, and fear from bouncing around inside his mind. Every action Monokuma seemed to do to try to push the teens to their breaking points infuriated him. He kept wandering with his thoughts until he heard a small whir around the corner. His brows furrowed together in confusion as he poked his head around the corner, curious to what the sound was.

Upon doing this, the nineteen year-old's eyes widened in surprise when he saw both Isamu and Isas sitting in the floor together with an RC car.  
The robotics expert smiled in excitement as she watched the black-haired teen speed the car throughout the hallway. It amazed her how his talent in racing allowed him to turn the car with excellent precision and not have to worry about slowing down. Her grin never left her face when the RC Car finally came to a stop in front of her.

Eager to know the teen's thoughts, she asked in an excited tone "What do you think Isas? Do you like my newest project? I made it with you specially in mind. You always stuck up for me whenever Toshiro made those cruel comments about me. I just had to thank you in any way I could."

Isas glanced at the teenage girl in surprise; he never expected for her to present him with a gift to show her thanks. He couldn't helped but feel a bit touched and slightly flustered.

"There's even more! Here let me show you!" the sandy-blonde-headed teen proclaimed.

Within a blink of an eye, she managed to snatch the controller away from the race car driver. Love and excitement glinted in her aqua eyes as she pushed a button. A squeal of happiness managed to escape her mouth the moment the RC car transformed into a small robot.

"It can transform too, just like the Herobots in 'Super Changing Fighting Robozoids'!" she exclaimed, love and admiration dripping off each word, "I knew out of the Herobots I could choose from, I had to design it off the Herobots' leader Supremus Nine. No other Herobot would have worked."

"Any reason why you chose him?" Isas asked with a small smile.

A small blush managed to creep on Isamu's face from the question; a dreamful smile clearly painted on her face. Her tone changed into a soft one as she explained her reason for her choice. She had chosen the main character simply because the race car driver reminded her of the heroic robot. The blush on her face deepened the longer she continued her story. The teen next to her seemed to carry of all the qualities of the hero she admired from her anime; she considered them both noble, brave, kind, and always willing to help others.

Her eyes glanced up at the black-haired teen to see a bright blush painted on his face, much similar to the one on her own. A small melodious giggle escaped her mouth when she saw the nineteen year-old struggle to give her eye contact.

"So... you really think I'm like Supremus Nine, huh? That's... that's a good thing, right?" Isas asked, taking a few nervous pauses.

Isamu giggled once more before taking one of her hands and clasping it tightly around the teenage boy's, prompting the racer to immediately stiffen from the action.

"Of course it is." she answered as she rested her head on the teen's shoulder, "You didn't have to be so kind to me. We're total strangers and you had no reason to stand up for me like you did. You're so kind, Isas. You made Toshiro back down when he was being a huge jerk to not only me but the others too, you stayed with me till nighttime when I was suffering from anxiety due to Monokuma's motive, and you're doing you're best to insure we all get out of here alive. You're a good person, Isas, don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Isas was speechless from the girl's confession. He could feel his heart pounding rapidly in his chest; he knew it was not pounding for the same reasons that the Killing Game itself cause, but rather for other reasons. There was no denying it, despite the deadly situation he and the others were trapped in, he knew he was starting to develop feelings for a girl he barely knew. While only small at the moment, the teen understood that the longer he spent time with Isamu, getting to know her, the more those feelings would grow.

Leon's mouth hung open in shock from the scene he witnessed. He easily noticed how strangely close Isas was to Isamu during the first few days, but he never imagined they were attracted to one another. His fingers curled around the hallway's corner as a bitter frown formed on his face. Looking at the scene of the two teen's reminded him of one of his memories before his first killing game. He could easily remember himself sitting nervously on a school bench with Sayaka leaning on his shoulder. He could recall her sweet smile as she snuggled her head against him with her arms tightly curled around his waist.

 _"That was after I shortly started dating her. I managed to work up the nerve to ask her out. She was different from the other girls I dated. Maybe if my memories weren't erased by Junko, then maybe I wouldn't have..."_ he thought to himself, unable to bring himself to finish the thought.

His eyes squeezed tightly shut whilst he pressed his back against the wall; his guilt from murdering Sayaka rising up once more.

The teen remained lost in his thoughts of the past until he heard a female voice say "Isamu and Isas, huh? Who would have guessed?"

Immediately snapping open his eyes, the red-head was greeted with the sight of Shizko standing before him. He raised a brow in confusion and interest upon examining the teenage girl before him. He could see Shizko's face seemed like her normal annoyed self, yet her eyes seemed to hold some type of longing. Following her line of vision, the nineteen year-old learned the sculptor was staring directly at Isamu and Isas. Yet this fact confused the baseball player; he couldn't understand why the teenage girl was staring at a couple with longing when she had made it clear that she didn't care for any kind of relationship.

A part of him fearing of what her reaction would be, Leon asked with a bit of hesitancy "Shizko, why do you dislike the idea of relationships? There's nothing wrong with that, I'm just curious."

The silver-haired girl flinched at the athlete's question, she had hoped no one would ask her for reason to prefer being alone. She remained silent for a few moments before finally letting out an annoyed sigh.

"I see them as pointless." she answered in a somber tone, "There's no sense in making friends or settling down. Kiyoshi is the only exception since I can't help but consider her my friend. It wouldn't feel right to reject her kindness after all. Though even then, I'm still unsure about being her friend. Relationships and friendships always come to an end, leaving behind only heartbreak. Why force someone to go through such heartbreak? I just prefer to be alone so that I would never have to worry about those things."

Leon was unable to think up a response to the sculptor's statement. Each word sounded cold and stern, making him easily see her stance on matter. Yet what puzzled him the most was the hint of sadness that lay hidden within Shizko's words. It deeply confused him to why the teenage girl insisted that she prefer being alone, yet be saddened by the idea at the same time.

Before the teen could dwell on it any further, his thoughts were shattered by Shizko stating "Besides, preferring to be alone is what helped me gain my status as the Ultimate Sculptor."

She could easily remember during her childhood how the other children always kept trying to strike up a conversation with her in order to become friends. But she never cared for their attempts due to her view on relationships, all she wished was to be left alone. All the children kept trying to talk to her except for in one class. She sighed in content as fond memories of her sculpting class filled her mind. It was the one time no one tried to talk to her. She remembered her feelings of happiness as she dedicated more time to her sculptures, increasing her skills as she got older. The more she worked on the sculptures, the less people tried to talk to her out of worry they would accidentally interrupt her work.

"Being an Ultimate made things easier for me. No one dared try to interact with me so I could continue to dedicate my time to work. The news of my status of the Ultimate Sculptor spread like wildfire. The only ones who ever bothered me at that point were scouts for Hope's Peak Academy. Of course I rejected their offers. I felt like transferring to another school would be pointless. I'm pretty content with my current school." she finished in a stern tone.

Leon found himself bewildered from the girl's story. He couldn't understand why she wished to sink so much of her time into sculpting to the point she rejected an offer from attending a high school that would guarantee her success. In his mind, the girl had no reason to reject the offers, unlike him. His teeth clenched slightly when he thought back to the scouts that approached him about attending the school. He rejected every single offer presented to him, puzzling everyone around him, even his own mother, on why the Ultimate Baseball Star refused to attend Hope's Peak Academy. Unfortunately, as much as he wanted to, the nineteen year-old knew he could never explain his hatred and feelings of regret toward the school.

"Are we done here, because I believe my response perfectly answers your question." Shizko asked in a slight bitter tone.

The red-head sighed at the girl's words before answering "I guess so. I'm going to head back to my room. I'll see ya when it's time to get Naoko out of the safe."

Without another word, Leon walked down the hallway, ignoring the surprised looks from Isamu and Isas as he walked past them.  
Shizko bit her lip as she crossed her arms, making sure the athlete was out of sight. The moment she saw him disappear around the corner, she let out a sigh whilst leaning against the wall. Exhaustion immediately formed on her face with her body wobbling slightly.

 _"Thank god he left. Any longer and he would have found out. I can't let anyone else aside from Hisoka know. It would break their hearts if they knew."_ she thought to herself with a frown.

Later that day, the group of teens returned to the main factory room, just in time for the timer on the safe to dwindle down to its last few seconds.  
Leon's body stiffened as thoughts of worry filled his mind. All of them had been away from the main factory room for twelve hours, meaning they still had no idea if Naoko was okay within the safe. The tensity filling the air only increased when the timer finally hit zero and a loud buzzing echoed throughout the room. Within seconds, Monokuma finally made his appearance, causing Leon to flinch slightly from his presence.

"Well you all showed up early. What, scared that your friend is going to tumble out of the safe dead?" Monokuma taunted in a sly tone, "I said I would insure he would stay alive, but I guess it wouldn't stop one of you from some how killing him while he's stuck in there. Imagine if that ended up happening? Puhuhu!"

"Just open up the damn safe and let our friend out already!" Seiichi snapped out of rage.

"Ugh! Fine! You guys are just so pushy! Can't a bear just toss around some jokes?" the black and white bear grumbled as he pulled out the safe key.

Everyone grew nervous as the demented bear opened up the safe, unsure what they would discover. The moment Monokuma opened the safe, Naoko's body tumbled to the ground unconscious. But much to everyone's fear, the sprint runner showed no sign of movement.

"Oh god... please tell me he's not..." Kiyoshi gasped in fear with her hands slapped over her mouth.

Hisoka's heart pounded in fear as he and Seiichi immediately ran over to the teenage boy. Wasting no time, he lifted up the ginger-headed teen's wrist in order to feel a pulse. The doctor's body slowly slackened as he let out a sigh of relief; he could feel a small pulse. Sure enough, all his doubts vanished when he saw the sprint runner slowly blink open his yellow eyes.  
With the same professional aura she carried before, Hiroko made her way over to Naoko and and kneeled down to his level.

"Naoko, how do you feel?" she asked, wanting to make sure the teen was alright.

Naoko grunted as he tried to adjust his body before answering in a weak tone "Shaky... really shaky."

"I would be surprised if you weren't." Hisoka explained as he helped the sprint runner sit up, "When it comes to the human being surviving without food and water, the body would be shaky at the twelve hour mark as a result of low blood sugar. You should be fine once we get food and water in your body. We're lucky that Monokuma didn't leave you any longer in that safe."

The bear chuckled from the doctor's response before responding "I told you guys that it would be boring if I were the cause of any of your deaths. I would rather see you guys kill each other."

Deciding to ignore the demented bear, Seiichi asked out of confusion "I get that, but why was he passed out, doc? Did Monokuma lie about the air thing?"

The blonde-headed teen shook his head as he answered "No, he would have been dead if that was the case. I think he just only passed out from the anxiety. Well let's hurry and help him to the lunch room. If we want to get food in him, we need to do it before the nighttime announcement."

Leon sighed in relief as he watched both the doctor and wrestler carry Naoko out of the room. A part of him feared that the safe would be opened to reveal the teenager dead inside. He didn't want to doubt any of his companions, but he knew all of them feared the motive as much as him. He wasn't even sure if Naoko himself was sane enough to not kill after having to endure his worst fear for twelve hours. He couldn't help but feel paranoid from the motive, worried that the motive would be enough to push someone to commit murder.

"Whelp, looks like you chumps got the rest of the day to try to kill someone. Otherwise another one of you will be subjected to your worst fear." Monokuma reminded the group, "As you can see, I definitely mean business when it comes to my motive. So unless any of you want to go through the same suffering sprint boy experienced, I suggest you get to killing. Well see ya suckers later!"

The red-head's breath seemed to hitch as the demented bear left the room; the words of his reminder echoing throughout his mind. His body trembled as his thoughts drifted to what the next day could hold for him. He didn't know if he would wake up to find yet another dead body, or end up being the one selected to be subjected to his worst fear. No matter the end result, both possibilities terrified the teen deeply.


	11. Chapter 11 - Driven Batty

Chapter 11

Another day passed by, and once again, no murder was committed. Leon dug his fingers into his arms folded over his chest as he and the others awaited Monokuma's appearance. His pale-blue eyes glanced over at Naoko to see the teen visibly shaking in fear. While the sprint runner had no fear of being selected again, Leon understood the teen was still frightened due to the memories of being trapped in the safe were still fresh in his mind. Suddenly the baseball player found himself drawn away from his thoughts upon hearing the sounds of metal scrapping along the ground.

He turned his head just in time to see Monokuma pushing in a large cage full of bats. The nineteen year-old couldn't help but raise a brow in puzzlement, wondering how the robotic bear even managed to acquire a large cage full of bats. But with the shake of his head, the teen pushed away that confusion, remembering that he was questioning the same robotic bear that managed to create elaborate sets for executions.

"So based on the looks on youse guys' faces, ya'll probably wondering who has a fear connected to bats? Well one of you know the answer to that obviously. It's that person's worst fear after all." Monokuma spoke up with a chuckle.

Everyone was confused about who the bear was referring to until they heard the sound of someone collapsing. Immediately upon hearing the sound, everyone turned to see Kiyoshi on her hands and knees with her body trembling terribly.  
The cartoonist's eyes were wide as she began to hyperventilate. She didn't want Monokuma to stuff her into the cage with the bats. The flying creatures of the night deeply terrified her after her encounter with them as a child. The horrifying memory raced through her mind, images of her as a child running screaming out of a cave after accidentally disturbing the bats' habitat.

"Please... don't put me in there! Please don't!" she pleaded in a small tone.

"Oh don't worry, there's a cage within the cage. That way the bats won't be anywhere near you. Of course it is quite the small cage, so it may seems like at times the bats are in the same cage as you. But like I care about that, this is meant to terrify you after all! Puhuhu!" Monokuma replied.

Kiyoshi's body began to tremble even more as she began to hyperventilate. Her mind was full of panic, desperately trying to think of a way out. Her turquoise eyes glanced up at the bats in the cage; her pupils shaking rapidly when she heard a few loud shrieks from the bats. She wanted to run, but sadly she knew she had no where to run.  
Shizko snarled in anger with her hands clenched into two firm fists. Her icy-blue eyes glared hatefully at the demented bear with a twisted grin. She refused to allow him to put her friend in such a terrifying scenario. With hope filling her, she sighed as she let her hands relax.

Doing her best to stay clam, she spoke up in a stern tone "Put me in there instead."

"Wha wha?!" the robotic bear exclaimed in confusion, stunned the sculptor was stepping forward.

"Put me in there in Kiyoshi's place. I'm... also terrified as bats. All that matters is that you terrify at least one of us right?" Shizko replied.

Leon's teeth clenched from the scene he was watching unfold before his eyes. It was obvious to him that Kiyoshi was the only one terrified of bats and that Shizko was simply lying in order to protect her friend. He didn't want to imagine what snarky comment the bear would come up with, believing that the robotic bear was able to easily see through the sculptor's lie. But much to his confusion, Monokuma didn't utter a single word. He watched as the black and white bear hummed to himself while tapping his foot on the ground in thought.

After a few moments in thought, Monokuma finally said "You're right, I do recall you are afraid of bats. Alright then, I'll stuff you inside instead of shaky over there!"

Stunned expressions immediately formed on Leon's, Shizko's, and Kiyoshi's faces. They found it hard to believe that the demented bear actually believed the lie told to him, leaving them to wonder why he had accepted the offer. Unfortunately the trio didn't get to think about it long as Monokuma began demanding for the teenage girl to enter the now open cage.  
Shizko took in a deep breath as she approached the cage, not daring to look back to avoid seeing Kiyoshi's face. Without a word, she lowered her self in order to crawl in the small opening of the cage.

Once inside, the nineteen year-old watched as the psychotic bear slammed the cage door close, causing the bats to immediately start swarming. Her teeth clenched whilst she slapped her hands over her ears, trying to drown out the sounds of the shrieks from the panicked bats.  
Monokuma giggled to himself as he locked the cage with a key similar to the one he used to lock the safe, prompting a timer to activate at the top of the cage. Just like the one on the safe, the timer displayed twelve hours.

"Well you chumps know the drill. Go do stuff until it's time to get your friend out. Just like runner boy there, she'll be locked in there for exactly twelve hours. Well, see ya then!" the bear proclaimed.

With the last of his words, Monokuma left the room with a sly grin, not bothered by the angry glares being burned into the back of his head.  
Kiyoshi stared at the cage with wide eyes, unable to find the will to move nor speak. She stared blankly at her friend who remained trapped in the cage with no escape; the cage that was originally to hold her.  
Seeing that the cartoonist needed help, Seiichi placed a firm grasp on both of the girl's arms and helped her stand up. He frowned in concern as he helped the girl walk out of the room, hoping he could preoccupy her until twelve hours were up.

Seeing that once again they had little choice in the situation, the group went their separate ways, following the same routine they did with Naoko the previous day.  
Leon stuffed his hands into his pockets as he made his way to the lunch room. Despite not having much of an appetite, the red-head hoped he could at least find a snack he could munch on. It only took a few minutes for him to reach the lunch room. But once he entered the room, much to his surprise, he saw it wasn't empty like he thought. Sitting one of the tables, the nineteen year-old saw none other than Naoko.

His eyes narrowed as he studied the teenage boy leaning on top of the table with despair lingering in his eyes. There was no doubt in his mind that the sprint runner was still suffering from being locked in a safe for twelve hours. Figuring it would help pass by the time, Leon sighed before walking over to the table and sitting down next to the teenage boy.

"Hey, Naoko, you doing okay?" he asked out of worry.

The ginger-headed teen gasped whilst jumping slightly from his seat upon hearing Leon's voice. He breathed frantically with his hand clenching his chest, desperately trying to calm himself down. Fortunately it only took him a few seconds to regain a calm state before he turned toward the teen seated next to him.

"Sorry about that, Leon. I was in the middle of some serious thinking." the nineteen-year old apologized while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Really? Was it about Monokuma's motive?" the red-head replied.

The sprint runner was unable to prevent himself from flinching at the mention of the motive. He took in a shaky sigh as his hands clenched, his eyes glancing downward.

"Sort of... it's just..." the teenage boy began to speak up, taking nervous pauses, "I'm not... I'm not going to end up like... like Kazuo am I? He was driven to murder out of... despair. He wasn't the type you would ever expect to murder someone. Well... at least I didn't expect it. At least... not after our talk on the first day."

 _Naoko panted as he ran through the hallways, trying to burn off as much adrenaline as he could. He barely paid notice as he ran past Jin who was currently dragging Leon to her room despite his objections. He managed to round the corner before coming to a screeching halt. Rapid pants escaped his mouth with a happy grin painted on his face, satisfied with his sprint through the factory. His yellow eyes glanced throughout the hallway, managing to see Isamu disappear into her room and Kiyoshi walk around the corner toward the lunch room._

 _With the two girls gone, the only one that remained in the hallway with him was Kazuo Tatsuo. He watched as the guitarist started strumming the strings, creating intense and entertaining rock and roll music. The ginger-headed teen couldn't help but admire the music, understanding how Kazuo managed to earn his title as the Ultimate Guitarist._

 _"Whoo! It sounds as good as it looks!" the guitarist exclaimed with one last strum._

 _Naoko found himself both amazed and intrigued by the teen's skill with the musical instrument, leaving him to wonder how he managed to gain such skill._

 _Wanting answers, the nineteen year-old asked "Hey, Kazuo, where did you even learn play like that?"_

 _The orange-haired teen jolted in surprise, having failed to take notice that he wasn't alone in the hallway. But his shock quickly disappeared, replaced with an energetic smirk._

 _"I've been at this for awhile, bro. Ever since I was a kid. I got inspired ever since my first encounter with my idol!" he explained, "Ever heard of the Ultimate Musician Ibuki Mioda?"_

 _Naoko's brows raised in shock as his body stiffened in discomfort. He easily knew of the musician thanks to his parents' tales from their time during The Tragedy. He learned that she was one of the members of the Remnants of Despair, formerly known as the Ultimate Despair, which was the group responsible for the world falling into devastation. Hearing tales about the musician that spread despair through her music, managing to create large riots, all of it disturbed the teen. He found it hard to believe that Kazuo could even like a person that did such horrible deeds._

 _"Wasn't she one of the Remnants of Despair? Don't tell me you were one of those people that liked her despair filled music." the sprint runner asked._

 _Upon hearing the question, Kazuo tilted his head slightly as he replied "Dude, why would I have listened to the whack version of her music? I was barely learning how to talk when she did all that twisted stuff. Besides, you're forgetting the detail of the Remnants of Despair disbanding a few years of the Tragedy ended. She was one of them, but not anymore. Now she's a wicked awesome musician again that's sharing her rocking work with the world again! No despair attached!"_

 _The nineteen year-old laughed as he twisted his guitar in his hands. He didn't waste any details as he revealed the story behind his encounter with the famous musician. He could remember the scene perfectly of him on the way home from school. The idea of school life in general always seemed dull to him, making him yearn for something to liven up his life. The guitarist laughed when he thought about how his younger self had never expected to hear the sound of the guitar on his way home. He couldn't help but find himself drawn to it._

 _The memory of himself rushing into the park to seek out the music remained fresh in his mind. He remembered his heart pounding in amazement and awe when he had stumbled upon a concert in the park. Each detail was burned into his mind, easily able to recall of the image of a young woman in her late twenties with purple, blue, and white highlights in her hair, shouting in joy as she rocked out on her guitar._

 _"So I have to admit, her singing leaves much to desire. Never was too fond of the heavy metal theme." Kazuo admitted with a small smile, "But the thing I can't deny is that she was absolutely rocking with her guitar, I mean really. I never heard such sweet tunes before in my entire life. I was so amazed that when the performance was over, I kind of snuck backstage."_

 _"You did what?! How did security not catch you?" Naoko explained._

 _With a laugh and wink, the guitarist answered "When you're a small kid, it's pretty easy to find places to sneak around. I mean how could I not pass up the opportunity to try out her guitar? At the time I wanted to see if I could recreate those awesome tunes. I managed to play a few notes, but then I got caught by my idol."_

 _He remembered how shocked she was at first to see a child with her guitar, trying his best to play music. He was worried that she was going to call for secuirty, until that worry got replaced when shock the moment she began to laugh._

 _"Turns out she thought I was pretty good and encouraged me to keep playing. After receiving her advice, I couldn't help but chase my dream of becoming a popular rock and roll guitarist. You can't imagine how happy I was when my school had me officially declared as the Ultimate Guitarist. When I get out of this hell hole we're all trapped in, I'm going to keep chasing my dream. Just you watch dude, some day my name will be everywhere and you'll be able to always catch my rocking performances!" Kazuo finished before laughing one last time._

"To think, he was so happy and ready to chase his dream. But now he can't chase that dream at all; he died before he could accomplish what he set out to do. I... I don't want that to happen to me too." Naoko sighed with his head resting on the table.

Leon remained speechless as his eyes glanced sideways, unable to give the sprint runner eye contact. He easily guessed that Kazuo was a good person despite his deed. He could tell from how the guitarist desperately pleaded for his life before Monokuma executed him. But now he understood exactly how much despair the orange-headed teen experienced before his death, especially with his final words.

 _Out of desperation, Kazuo immediately stood up and pleaded "No! No! No! No! I can't die here! Please don't let me die here! I want to live! I want to become like my idol and become a popular rock and roll guitarist! I still want to live my life! Please don't kill me!"_

"Please, Leon. Please tell me that I'm not going to end up like Kazuo. I don't want to die here!" Naoko pleaded in a broken tone, unaware of the tears starting to form in his yellow eyes.

The red-head sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck, trying to think of the right words to say.

After a few moments in thought, he finally answered "I'm not going to sugar coat it, Naoko, we're all at risk of being killed as long as we're trapped in here. I just can't force a smile and tell you that you'll be okay, because I don't know what will happen. That's why everyone, even me, are scared to death of this situation. But despite being scared, the best we can do is try to stay calm. The moment you give into fear and paranoia, that's when you seal your fate. That's exactly why Kazuo died."

The sprint runner lifted up his head silently, staring in shock at the baseball player next to him. He didn't know why, but he could almost swore he could hear a hint of regret in the teen's word. He couldn't figure out the reason why the nineteen year-old could be feeling regret; the only reason he could think of is that Leon experienced those feelings himself. With a grunt and the shake of his head, the ginger-headed teen quickly brushed away that thought. He didn't see how it could be possible because, as far as he knew, Leon had never been in a killing game before.

The wait felt like ages to the group of teens when twelve hours had finally passed by. They were all gathered in the main factory room with concerned faces as they stared at the cage containing Shizko. They could see the teenage girl was curled into a ball with her hands still firmly placed over her ears, not daring to move so as to avoid disturbing the bats again.  
Kiyoshi bit her lip as she anxiously awaited the appearance of Monokuma. The sooner the demented bear released her friend, the sooner she could relax a bit.

Much to her relief, the robotic bear finally entered the room with key in hand.

"Well looks like time is up once again. Hope little Shizko in there didn't go all batty during those twelve hours." Monokuma laughed as he unlocked the cage.

Wasting no time, the moment the cage was unlocked, Shizko quickly scampered out of the cage. She breathed heavily with and exhausted look painted on her face; her arms and legs wobbling ever so slightly.

"Shizko!" Kiyoshi cried out as she ran over to her friend.

Tears were streaming down her face, with her heart pounding in panic. It terrified her deeply that her friend took her place and now seemed to be in a sick state. More tears poured down her face as she helped the sculptor stand back up, feeling the guilt of allowing her friend to take her place weigh heavily on her shoulders. Thoughts of regret constantly ran through her mind, wishing she had been brave like Naoko and faced her worst fear.

"Well, that's all for now. But if you guys don't want to keep going through with this, I suggest you get killing. Though if you guys really want another one of your friends to suffer, I have been considering a certain red-head in the room to be subjected to his worst fear. It's absolutely hilarious that he makes runner boy's fear over there seem reasonable! Puhuhu! Catch you chumps later!" Monokuma laughed as he left the room.

Leon's breath hitched as his face turned pale. Much like Naoko and Kiyoshi, he didn't want to get subjected to his worst fear. Especially when that fear only reminded him of the execution that claimed his life.  
With fear and dread filling them all, the group of teens left the room, unsure what the next day would hold for them.

That very next morning, Leon struggled to keep his body from trembling as he made his way to the lunch room for breakfast. While he didn't have much of an appetite for food, the nineteen year-old was desperate for anything to delay the motive he would soon have to face. Unfortunately, the moment he entered the lunch room, he heard the sound of something being thrown. He quickly turned to see none other than a baseball speeding toward him. The red-head sucked in a sharp breath as he jerked out of the way of the baseball, allowing it to hit the wall next to him.

His pale-blue eyes were wide with his body trembling in fear, unable to acknowledge the footsteps running toward him.

"Geez, Leon, I'm so sorry!" Naoko apologized as he picked up the baseball, "Seiichi and I found a few baseballs in here and decided to toss it around a bit. I did not mean to almost hit you! I accidentally threw it too high for Seiichi to catch. Please don't be mad!"

But the ginger-headed teen frowned when he received no response from the baseball player; instead he was greeted with of a pale, trembling teen.

"Well Naoko, it seems you accidentally uncovered Leon's worst fear." Toshiro chuckled in an amused tone, "Apparently the baseball player is terrified of a baseball being hurled at him. Ha! How ironic! Well that explains the appearance of the baseballs. Monokuma was obviously preparing for the motive, he did mention that Leon was next on the list."

"Baseballs? How can a baseball be scary?" Naoko asked out of confusion, accidentally holding the ball in front of Leon's face.

The red-head couldn't help but snarl slightly out of frustration. While he understood it was impossible for the sprint runner to know how he managed to develop his fear, it still angered him from witnessing the teenage boy's naivety. He inhaled deeply while pushing away his terrified thoughts, doing his best to calm himself. But the moment the nineteen year-old calmed down, an important question had entered his mind. If those baseballs were meant for his motive, why were they left in the lunch room instead of the main factory room. The only reason he could think of was that Monokuma didn't bother to move the baseballs because the motive was no longer required.

With the panic of realization hitting him, Leon immediately asked "Hey, is everyone here?"

Knowing what the baseball player was implying, the group of teens glanced around the room. Everyone was accounted for except for Hisoka and Shizko.

"Maybe Monokuma was just lazy and forgot to move the baseballs. It's possible that Shizko and Hisoka could only be running late." Seiichi suggested in a nervous tone.

"There's only one way to find out. We need to split up and find them. Hopefully they're both okay." Leon replied.

Without another word, everyone began searching around the factory, seeking any sign of the two missing teens. Leon's heart kept pounding as he searched around the rooms, hoping that the two possibly over slept. But as much as he was hopeful that the two were fine, a part of him feared to worst outcome. He kept searching until, suddenly, Isamu's scream filled the air. Sweat formed on the teenager's brow whilst he spun toward the stairs leading to the second floor. Wasting no time, he quickly darted up the stairs along with Isas and Mineko who had also heard the girl's scream.

Leon took in frantic breaths as he kept running as fast as he could, dreading the answer for the cause of Isamu's scream. It only took a few moment for him and his companions to locate the teenage girl, but his body stiffened from seeing the state the girl was in. He saw Isamu on the floor backed up against the wall, her eyes frozen in fear and her hands pressed against her mouth. His eyes glanced to the area in front of the girl to see she was staring inside of the open supply closet. Despite a part of him fearing what the robotic's expert had found, the red-head slowly approached the supply closet. But once he had reached the front of the open closet; he gasped as his body froze in fear at what he saw. Lying in a slumped position with multiple stab wounds in his neck and chest was none other than the lifeless body of Hisoka Yoshio.

 **Killing Game Students - 12 Remain**


	12. Chapter 12 - Mysteries of Death

Chapter 12

Leon stared in both in shock and horror at the lifeless body shoved in the supply closet. Despite already accepting that a murder was most likely to take place, he still couldn't come to terms with Hisoka's death. He inhaled sharply whilst taking a few steps back from the closet, barely noticing Monokuma's body announcement. The only thought running through his mind was the fear of having to return to the class trial, dreading the inevitable execution that awaited.

"Why Hisoka? Out of everyone that the culprit could pick, why pick the one that was trying to help us stay calm and sane?" Mineko asked with her voice wavering, feeling nausea from the gruesome crime scene.

"There's no telling with all of us being forced to play this damn game. What I can't understand is why the killer stabbed him multiple times. He would have already been dead with the first few stabs. There was no point in putting more holes than Swiss Cheese in him." Isas commented as he helped Isamu stand up.

The robotics expert gagged while slapping her hand over her mouth. Seeing the nineteen's year body with countless numbers of stab wounds in his neck and chest was too much for her. Without any hesitation, she quickly darted for the nearby restroom.  
The moment Isamu darted to the restroom, the remaining survivors, including Shizko, arrived to see the horrifying scene that awaited them.

"Oh god, so it was true." Shizko spoke up in a horrified tone, "Another murder actually happened."

Noticing the sculptor among the group, Isas demanded in a stern tone "Where were you Shizko? We were searching all over for you and Hisoka. I can obviously see why Hisoka didn't show up for breakfast, but what's your excuse?"

The silver-headed girl fell silent as her eyes glanced to the floor. With a slight annoyed sigh, she stated that she had been up late the previous night due to anxiety caused by being stuck in the cage with the bats. Because of that, she ended up sleeping through Monokuma's morning announcement and didn't wake up until she heard the body announcement. She glanced over at Hisoka's body and tensed up slightly. The sight of his dead body completely unnerved her.  
Unfortunately the tense atmosphere only increased with the arrival of Monokuma. The robotic bear grinned slyly as he poked his head around the open closet door to take a glance at Hisoka's body.

"Man, what a klutz. The culprit totally made a mess out of my supply closet. They should've been considerate enough to clean up the paint they spilled." he whined.

Leon's brows raised in surprise at the bear's word before quickly glancing at the supply closet. Sure enough, he managed to spot a few paints buckets were tipped over, causing them to not only spill onto the floor but on Hisoka's doctor coat as well.

The teen's thoughts were interrupted by Hideyo demanding "Just give us the stinking Monokuma File. I hate the idea of having to get another one of our friends killed. So the sooner we get through that pitiful excuse for a class trial, the better!"

"Quite the bitter one aren't ya? I can totally see why Toshiro calls you an ignorant child behind your back." Monokuma replied with his grin growing wider at his last few words.

The stunt actress' mouth dropped open in shock before quickly spinning toward the aspiring director. Without any kind of warning, she immediately slapped the teenage boy across the face. She glared at him with a snarl as she watched the confused Toshiro stare up at her from the ground with a now red cheek. She didn't care if her slap managed to anger the nineteen year-old, all that mattered to her was giving him a reminder should he feel tempted to talk behind her back again.

"What a slap! Bet you're wishing you could do the same to me. Too bad that's impossible, unless you're volunteering to give me an excuse to murder you. It would be the boring option, but I have to admit, it would be far less painful than what the culprit will go through if they end up getting caught! Bwahahaha!" Monokuma taunted with his head thrown back in laughter, "Well chumps, it will be the same song and dance as last time. Find the clues and then discuss said clues in the class trial. Any information I consider a dead giveaway to the culprit will be omitted. So catch you guys on the flip side!"

With the last of the words, the demented bear laughed as he left the hallway.  
Wanting to direct his thoughts away from the scene he witnessed, Leon pulled out his monopad and opened the Monokuma File tab. His eyes scrolled across each word, trying to take in every single detail about the crime. Much to his frustration, no matter how many times he looked through the file, it did not list a time of death for Hisoka. The only details it listed was the doctor's cause of death and how his body showed no signs of being in a struggle.

"No time of death, eh? Guess that's a crucial clue to the murderer's identity. Unfortunately we can't even examine the body to find out ourselves. There's no telling how long Hisoka's body had been here. Not to mention that Hisoka was the only one among us that had any kind of medical knowledge, meaning he was the only one that could examine a body in order to estimate a time of death." Hideaki noted with a frown.

Leon clenched his teeth as he rubbed the temple of his forehead. He wanted to uncover the culprit's identity, but was unsure how to do so without a time of death. Hoping to find more clues to the doctor's murder, the nineteen year-old made his way to the nurse's office. He remained silent as he searched through the the different assortment of shelves and drawers. Nothing seemed to stick out to him except for the single white bed in the room. His pale-blue eyes narrowed while he walked over to the bed.

Upon examination, the teen noticed that the bed's sheets had been ruffled, almost as if someone had been sleeping in it. Leon closed his eyes in thought, trying to come up with a possibility for why the bed would had been used despite the fact rooms had been provided to everyone. That was when he remembered Hisoka's promise before he died; the promise to insure that he would be the only one to withdraw any kind of medical supplies from the nurse's office. It made him wonder if the doctor had started to sleep in the nurse's office without telling anyone in order to keep an eye on the medical supplies.

The red-head couldn't deny the possibility, especially with there being no rule to forbid the participants from sleeping anywhere but their rooms like the previous killing game he was in. Suddenly, he found himself drawn away from his train of thought at the sound of footsteps entering the room. Curious of who had entered the nurse's office, Leon turned around to be greeted with the sight of Hideaki with a Black Light in his hand.

"Don't mind me, Leon." the forensicist stated with a grin, "Just searching for traces of blood. I figured the killer might have tried to clean up much like Kazuo did with his bloody tracks. I may not be able to help with the time of death, but at least I can definitely pin down the location of his death."

Without another word, the sandy-blonde-headed teen knelt on the ground and shined his Black Light on the floor. But the moment he did this, the nineteen year-old nearly stopped breathing at what he discovered. With the help of the help of the Black Light, the teen managed to find a large bloodstain on the floor.  
Seeing the forensicist's discovery, Leon knelt down in order to get a closer look.

"I'm guessing that Hisoka's blood. Based on how many times he got stabbed, I'm not surprised that the bloodstain is so large. But that doesn't give of an idea of exactly how he got killed. The Monokuma File stated that were no signs of injuries from a struggle on Hisoka's body. I'm finding it hard to believe that he didn't see the killer heading toward him yet not be able to put up a fight despite the stabbing being done in the front." the red-head commented as he ran his hand through his hair.

"My guess is that the weapon had to be something Hisoka wasn't expecting. That would give the culprit the element of surprise. Try to see if you can find anymore clues in here. I'm going to search for more blood traces in the hallway. If he was killed in here, that means his body would have been dragged and shoved into the supply closet." Hideaki replied.

Leon nodded his head in agreement before searching around the nurse's office once more. He tried to find any sign of a discarded weapon, dying final message, anything that could narrow down the list of suspects. He was about to give up until he something in the trash can from the corner of his eye. Believing it to be an important clue, the baseball player quickly ran over to the trash can. His hands tensed slightly when he spotted a bloody notebook slightly poking out from underneath a pile of crumpled papers. The nineteen year-old swallowed a lump that developed in his throat, feeling a little uneasy picking up something covered blood.

With the book now his hands, the red-head narrowed his eyes as he opened up the book. Much to his surprise, he saw the notebook actually belonged to Hisoka. On the very first page, he saw the doctor had written an index that contained everyone's names who was forced to participate in the Killing Game. Curious of the reason why his companions were written in the book, Leon decided to flip over to his own page. At that moment, his heart felt like it had nearly stopped as his breath hitched. The page containing his name were all notes written by Hisoka concerning PTSD and possible treatments.

 _"He wrote notes concerning my panic attack. He was trying to keep me from having another attack."_ Leon thought to himself, _"Hisoka most likely carried this book with him up till his death. The bloodstains are proof of that. But if he was taking notes concerning my health, could it mean he did the same for the others?"_

Deciding to test his theory, the athlete flipped over to Naoko's page. Sure enough, the sprint runner's page had him diagnosed with depression and a list for treatments for depression. The red-head couldn't help but frown upon learning this discovery. Not only was it saddening to learn that Hisoka was only trying to help his friends, but it was saddening to learn exactly why Naoko had almost broke down in tears during his talk with him the previous day.

 _"He's really scared. He doesn't deserve this... none of us do."_ he thought to himself as he glanced down at the page once again.

The page for the sprint runner seemed similar to his own except for one strange detail that caught the nineteen year-old's eye. Right next to Naoko's name was a check mark. Curious if any of the other names contained check marks, he quickly flipped through the book. After a quick search, he saw the only other name that had a check mark next to it was Kiyoshi's. He ran his free-hand through his hair with a grunt, trying to figure why Hisoka had placed check marks next to the two friends' names.

"Let's hope Shizko's page has the answer. Her page is the only one I haven't checked yet." he muttered to himself, barely paying attention to what was written on Kiyoshi's page.

Without a word, he flipped over to the last few pages. But much to his shock, Shizko's page wasn't in the book. The place that originally contained her page was torn out of the notebook. Panic filled the baseball player as he started digging around in the trash, desperately searching for the missing page. But no matter how much he searched for the missing page, he couldn't find it anywhere. Seeing he was running out of time to investigate, Leon grunted in frustration whilst placing the notebook in pocket. Despite not knowing why check marks had been placed next to Kiyoshi's and Naoko's names, the teen figured the notebook would provide as a crucial clue in solving the mystery behind Hisaoka's murder.

Deciding to check up on the other's progress, the nineteen year-old left the nurse's office and made his way into the hallway. There he managed to see Hideaki using his Black Light to examine the trails of blood in the hallway, Seiichi and Naoko searching around Hisoka's body, Isas and Mineko searching the stairs, and the rest searching the many empty rooms for crucial clues. But before he could take a single step, he felt someone grab a hold of his arm. He didn't even have a chance to react when he suddenly found himself being pulled by his arm. The baseball player's world was spinning in confusion until finally, a few seconds later, he realized Isamu was the one pulling him.

"Geez! First Jin, then Kiyoshi, now you? Why do I find myself dragged everywhere by girls during the times I don't want to be?" Leon grumbled in annoyance.

The sandy-blonde-headed teen huffed slightly before responding "Now's no time for jokes, Leon! After I dashed to the restroom, I found some important clues in the washroom. Isas seemed pretty busy with his own search, so I decided to show you! Now hurry up!"

The teenage boy instantly clamped his mouth shut upon hearing the nineteen year-old's claim. Believing it was best to simply follow, he didn't utter another single word as the robotics expert lead him to the washroom. Once there, the teen raised his brows in intrigue when he saw small spots of paint pressed up against the washer's door.

"So you know how there was paint spilled on both Hisoka and the floor?" Isamu began explaining in a stern tone, "I think the killer might have spilled paint on themselves too. This is the only place you can wash clothes in the factory, so I have no doubt they came here after the murder. But it would have to be when no one noticed since only one person can wash clothes at a time. I guess they were in a panic if they didn't even realize they left behind some paint on the washer."

Leon pursed his lips as he closed his eyes in thought. It was true the culprit would need time to wash their clothes. The only times he could think of that the killer would have a chance to wash their clothes is either in the night while everyone was still asleep, or in the morning while they were all gathered breakfast. It was hard to estimate who could have used the washer during the nighttime, but during the day, he knew there was only one person that didn't show up for breakfast.

Suddenly his thoughts were shattered by Isamu stating "That isn't the only thing I found. When I decided to search inside the washer, I managed to find this inside."

The red-head couldn't help but jolt back the moment he saw the teenage girl opened up the washer and pull out a scalpel.

"Put that thing down! You can cut someone with that! Why was it in the washer of all places?" he demanded, his voice wavering slightly.

The robotics expert shrugged her shoulders as she replied "There's no telling, but I do know where it came from. It's obvious this is a scalpel from the nurse's office. But then that leaves the question, how did it get out of the nurses's office? Hisoka was pretty determined to insure he was the only to withdraw any kind of supplies from the nurse's office. I would imagine he would notice if someone tried to take anything. The only reason I can come up with is that Hisoka was trying to murder someone. I don't want to believe that possibility, but none of us expected Kazuo to end up murdering Jin either."

Leon took in a deep breath while folding his arms across his arms. He knew Isamu's suggestion wasn't outside the realm of possibility, but that still left the question how the killer managed to catch Hisoka off guard. There was no scenario he could think of where the doctor wouldn't be able to fight back. There was even still the lingering question why the murderer had even chosen to murder Hisoka in the first place. Leon didn't want to admit it, but some of his other companions were far easier targets than the doctor himself.

"Well no matter what the intention is, all we know is that Hisoka ended up the one dead." Isamu said in a small tone with her body shuddering, "Was the killer that desperate to not face their fear? Did they really find that more important than a human life? I just wish we didn't have to do this again. I could barely watch Kazuo's execution, I don't think I could handle another one."

The teenage boy didn't say a word whilst his eyes glanced to the ground. He wanted to try to comfort his friend, but unfortunately, he knew he had no time for that. Instead he wanted to focus his attention on the important matter at hand, uncovering the identity of Hisoka's murderer. Everything remained silent until the teenager heard Naoko calling out for him. He thanked Isamu for her important discovery before returning to the hall once more.

"Naoko, did you and Seiichi find anything in there?" Leon asked as he approached the supply closet.

The ginger-headed teen bit his lip nervously before responding "Yeah... but I'm not too happy with it."

With a small bit of hesistation, the sprint runner picked an object off of the floor and held it out before his companion.  
Leon felt like his heart had nearly stopped as his face turned place. In Naoko's hand, he saw him holding what was undeniably a sculpting tool covered in blood.


	13. Chapter 13 - The Second Trial

Chapter 13

"Naoko... exactly where did you find that sculpting tool?" Leon asked, taking a few pauses of hesitation.

The sprint runner scratched the top of his head with a frown as he answered "It was under Hisoka's body. I had moved his body aside in order to see if there were any clues and spotted the handle. Seiichi can confirm that there were no other sculpting tools in the supply closet, meaning it had come from somewhere else. But Shizko is the only one among us that would use sculpting tools, you don't think she snapped and ended up killing Hisoka do you?"

Before the red-head could even respond, the sound of the intercom activating once again and Monokuma announcing the end of the investigation period filled the air. A wave of nervousness immediately washed over the teen at the realization he would have to enter the courtroom he dreaded once again. No matter how much he tried to reason with himself, reinsure that he wouldn't be the one executed, the fact still remained he would end up watching another one of his friends die. He clenched his teeth tightly while heading downstairs with the rest of his companions, wondering how Makoto was even able to deal with the despair of watching his friends die.

Much to the nineteen year-old's disappointment, it didn't take long for he and the others to arrive at the infamous elevator. He took one glance look at the teens standing around him, seeing faces of fear and bravery as they prepared themselves for the unknown outcome of the trial. It made him a bit envious of the teenagers attempting to be brave in the face of the class trial, a bravery he found impossible for him to gain.

With a small sigh, he muttered to himself "Come on, Leon, you're doing this in order to keep you and the others alive. Just remember, you're doing this for Hisoka's sake. He would have wanted us to uncover his murderer.'

Gathering up his nerves one last time, Leon finally stepped in the elevator with the rest of his companions. His heart pounded in anxiety whilst the elevator began it's decent. For a few brief moments, his surroundings transformed into the same elevator he rode only once in the previous killing game. He sucked in a sharp breath and squeezed his eyes shut, reminding himself that he was not on trial for Sayaka's murder. Finally, his eyes reopened the moment he felt the elevator come to its destined stop. With a determined look in his pale-blue eyes, he watched as the elevator doors slowly opened.

None of the teens uttered a single word as they entered the courtroom. The group instantly took note in the changes the room had undergone since their previous trial. Instead of being designed after the first courtroom appearance in Hope's Peak Academy's killing game, the room was designed to look like Aztec ruins. The stands remained unchanged except for the addition of two posts which contained colorless portraits of Kazuo and Hisoka with a red X painted over their faces, much like Jin's portrait.

The silence filling the air was finally shattered by Monokuma proclaiming from his red throne "Welcome to the newly designed courtroom! I figured it could use the makeover for our second trial! I also made sure that the now deceased Kazuo and Hisoka weren't left out. It would be unfair if Jin was included despite being dead, yet those two weren't."

"Ah! Very creative indeed, Monokuma!" Toshiro complimented with awe in his eyes, "This type of setting would be great for an adventure film! After seeing this, I will have high expectations when it comes to the execution!"

Hideyo snarled as she glared at the brown-headed teen. While she despised the Killing Game in general, she couldn't help but wish Toshiro was the one murdered instead of Hisoka. The more she got to know the nineteen year-old, the more she came to despise him. She hated the joy and excitement the teen showed in the executions despite his claims of still being horrified by them. In her mind, no reasonable human being would take joy in someone's death and call it "creative." Becuase of her feelings, she was unable to prevent herself from shooting a hateful glare at the aspiring director as she stood behind her assigned stand.

Seeing that everyone was in their proper places, Hiroko coughed in order to direct all attention toward herself. She maintained her typical professional aura as she smoothed the wrinkles out of her skirt.

"Let's get down to business shall we?" she stated in a stern yet strict tone, "We're all here to discuss the murder of Hisoka Yoshio. According to the Monokuma File, he was stabbed multiple times in the neck and chest. Based on positioning, it seems the killer attacked from the front since there were no stab wounds located anywhere else on Hisoka's body. Hisoka would have died from the first few stabs to the neck. Unfortunately the file failed to state the time of the murder. So I suggest we narrow down the time window. When was the last time anyone saw Hisoka?"

Unfortunately, much to the speech debater's disappointment, no one had an answer. She sighed as her ruby eyes narrowed in focus. Without any kind of inkling of the time Hisoka was murdered, she found it hard to narrow down the suspects. At the moment, everyone seemed suspicious to her, even Hideaki.

Noticing the girl's distress, Seiichi suggested "Maybe we should go over what Hisoka was doing in the supply closet in the first place. If I were to take a guess, I think he went there to get supplies and the killer managed to sneak behind him. This would explain how the culprit murdered him without initiating any kind of struggle. All they would have to do is wait for Hisoka to turn around before they stabbed him to death."

"That doesn't exactly narrow down the time window though. Hisoka could have either headed up to the supply closet last night or this morning." Mineko pointed out with her arms crossed, "As long as the supply closet remains the crime scene, it will be near impossible to figure out which one of us murdered him."

Leon's brows instantly raised upon hearing the music composer's statement. It was true it was near impossible to figure out who murdered Hisoka, but only if the crime scene was the supply closest. In truth, the nineteen year-old remembered the hidden bloodstain Hideaki found in the nurse's office. Without any hesitation, the red-head immediately pointed this detail out, earning a few shocked glances from his fellow participants.

"Not only that," Hideaki added in a serious tone, "I studied the blood trails where the culprit moved Hisoka's body from the nurse's office and saw how they were long, continuous, and smeared. This means the culprit actually struggled with moving Hisoka's body, most likely having to pull his body along by his arms. We can take Seiichi and Hideyo off our suspect list since logically those two should be able to easily carry Hisoka with ease thanks to their strength."

Hiroko couldn't help but smile at the cunning teenage boy's deduction. Thanks to that deduction, she was able to finally verify when the murder had taken place. With the revelation that the killer wasn't strong enough to carry the body of the victim, it ruled out any possibility of the killing taking place in the morning. The purple-headed teen knew that had the killing taken place in the morning, the culprit most likely would have gotten caught in the process of cleaning up the crime. But unfortunately that left her with two crucial questions, why was the doctor in the nurse's office at night and who didn't have an alibi for nighttime.

The baseball player remained silent as his fingers tapped a bit on top of his stand. No one seemed to have an alibi for the previous night and no one could quite come up for an explanation for Hisoka's visit to the nurse's office. He wanted to believe the doctor simply chose to sleep in the room without anyone's knowledge in order to guard the medical supplies, but that left the question of how he was caught off guard. The teen had no doubt that the doctor would have immediately noticed an unwelcome guest in the room.

After all, thanks to the constant paranoia created from the Killing Game, even the red-head himself often found himself waking to the slightest noise in the night. The only reason he could think of for Hisoka being caught off guard is if the doctor actually invited the culprit into the nurse's office.

 _"Kind of like how Sayaka invited me into Makoto's room. I really hope this doesn't mean Hisoka was planning to kill someone after all. We still have no explanation for the scalpel Isamu found and the sculpting tool Naoko found. Still, there's got to be a clue that points to Hisoka's reasoning."_ Leon thought to himself.

He closed his eyes in thought; his mind searching through his memories surrounding the case. Finally he settled for one clue that still puzzled him; that was none other than Hisoka's notebook. Then teen recalled how the doctor had written everyone's name and medical diagnosis in the book. Nothing stood out except for the two check marks next to Naoko's and Kiyoshi's names, along with Shizko's missing page. Deciding to figure out what the two teens shared in common with each other, Leon immediately began searching his memories of the past few events. That was when a crucial realization struck him.

Wanting to seek answers, the red-head pulled the bloody notebook out of his pocket before asking "Naoko, when I was searching the nurse's office for clues, I found a notebook belonging to Hisoka hidden in the trash. The book contained all of our names with his notes concerning our medical states. What I found most interesting is that there was a check mark next to yours and Kiyoshi's name. I don't suppose you could explain the reason for this, can you?"

A nervous grin formed slightly on the sprint runner's face at the mention of the notebook. He felt hesitant to answer whilst he jogged in place for a bit, trying to gather up both his nerves and focus.

Finally with a small sigh, he answered "The doc kind of asked me to keep this a secret. But I suppose it doesn't matter now; he's dead so there's no sense in hiding it. The reason there's a check mark next to my name is because I had been subjected to the motive. Hisoka had me sleep in the nurse's office on the night I had been freed from the safe as a overnight study of sorts. He wanted to make sure the motive didn't affect me on a psychological level."

"You knew what he was doing there and didn't even bother to mention it till now?!" Hideyo snapped, her voice clearly expressing her rage, "We might have been able to prevent this whole thing if you opened your mouth! Why is it that you only open it during stupid times?!"

"Why would I mention a dead guy's secret?! I saw no reason, especially with him being dead!" Naoko snapped back, "Besides, he explained his reasons to me! He was worried if you guys found out that he was doing overnight studies in the nurse's office, you guys would suspect him of trying to murder someone. Even I have to admit I got a bit suspicious, that's what this game does to us!"

Leon frowned as he watched the two teen's argument unfold. It depressed him slightly to learn of the doctor's fear of distrust. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew the doctor was right with his assumptions. Everyone was desperate to survive in the Killing Game they were being forced to play; none of them could afford to blindly trust someone, especially with their lives on the line. Because of this, it left each of the teenagers paranoid and suspicious of each other's actions. directing his thoughts back to the matter at hand, Leon pursed his lip at the crucial detail he received.

With the knowledge of what the check marks represented, the teen now understood why the bed in the nurse's office had ruffled sheets. They were ruffled because Hisoka was having someone sleep in them as he watched over them throughout the night. That revelation managed to give an answer to the red-head as to why the doctor was killed without any kind of fight. He imagined the nineteen year-old hadn't expected the culprit he was treating to suddenly turn on him, leaving him no time to react or fight back.

He found himself snapped out of his thoughts by Hideaki commenting "Let's move on from that. Hisoka is already dead, we cannot change the past. All we can do is uncover who managed to murder him. Now Leon mentioned that Kiyoshi had a check mark next to her name, but I find it puzzling. Naoko was taken in because he had been subjected to the motive. Yet Kiyoshi wasn't subjected to the motive."

"That's right! If you all remember, Shizko over there volunteered instead. After all, she wanted to save her precious little friend. Puhuhu!" Monokuma piped up with a chuckle.

"Then logically Shizko should have a check mark next to her name. I assume Hisoka originally placed one next to Kiyoshi's name when we all saw the bats were her worst fear, but then proceeded to add one after Shizko ended up subjected to the motive. Leon, can you confirm this theory? Was there a check mark next to Shizko's name as well?" Isas asked.

Upon being presented with the question, the baseball player clenched his teeth. He didn't want to consider the possibility, but the clues were starting to point toward Shizko as the murderer. She was the one subjected to the motive, meaning Hisoka would have taken her in for overnight observation. That would also give her the chance to take the notebook from Hisoka's dead body and rip out her page. Yet despite all the clues pointing toward the sculptor, the red-head felt there was still something off. Almost as if, the pieces of the puzzle were lining up too nicely. Seeing that the others awaited his answer, Leon rubbed his neck as he explained about the missing page in the notebook.

The room fell quiet as all eyes settled on Shziko. The silver-headed girl clenched her fists out of nervousness, almost nearly shrinking at the suspicious gazes focused on her.

Suddenly the silence was shattered by Kiyoshi yelling "You all can't be serious!? You actually think Shizko is the one who murdered Hisoka? That's impossible! I know for a fact that she didn't murder Hisoka!"

Gaining confidence from her friend's voice, the sculptor smiled as she stated "So out of all the pages in the notebook, mine happened to be missing? Had you all considered the culprit ripped the page out to cast suspicion on me? Kazuo tried to pin his murder on Leon by planting the bloody bat, who's to say it's not a similar case here? Unless you have solid proof that I was on the second floor at the time of Hisoka's death, consider that missing page a dead end."

Leon furrowed his brows in confusion at the girl's statement. He didn't know why, but the girl didn't seem very defensive. While he knew she brought up a counter argument to the missing page, it stunned him how weak and easily debunkable it was. To him, it was almost as if Shizko purposely presented a poor argument. Much like he suspected, the sculptor's statement was shattered when Naoko discussed about the bloody sculpting tool he found underneath Hisoka's body.

"First the page and now one of your tools. This is shaping to be an interesting plot twist for the trial." Toshiro commented in a smug tone, "You could make the argument that it was taken from your room and planted in the supply closet, much like Kazuo planted Leon's bat at the scene of the murder. But I doubt this is the case, especially thanks to two crucial facts. The first is that no one would be stupid enough to try Kazuo's tactic, especially since that led to him getting exposed and executed. The second is that you're almost always in your room sculpting. In other words, no one else but you would have access to that tool."

The teens glanced back and forth at each other in disbelief, some even muttering under their breaths. They didn't see how the culprit could be anyone else but Shizko.  
Leon's eyes focused directly on the sculptor, searching for any kind of response from the teenage girl. Much to his surprise and confusion, while the nineteen year-old seemed nervous, she also seemed strangely calm. He couldn't even imagine a reason for the girl's calmness when all clues pointed to her as the killer. But suddenly, he was jolted out of his thoughts by the sound of Kiyoshi coughing.

"The clues may point toward Shizko as the killer, but we still have yet to establish the murder weapon. I know it seems like Shizko's sculpting tool is the murder weapon at the moment. Despite that, the possibility still remains that it was planted there. For all we know, **the culprit could have used a scalpel from the nurse's office."** the cartoonist suggested.

The moment those words left the nineteen year-old's mouth, Leon's face froze in both horror and realization. Up till that point, no one had mentioned the scalpel Isamu had found and the robotics expert had only shown it to him. If Kiyoshi already had knowledge of the scalpel, he knew the only possibility remaining was that she had placed it in the washer herself. He silently glanced over at Shizko, noticing the horror painted on her face at her friend's words. It was then that the teen finally found the answer he was seeking.

The red-head now understood why Shizko was providing such weak arguments that only caused more suspicion to be cast on herself; he knew she was trying to purposely get the others to vote for her. His fists clenched as a part of him felt remorse for the sculptor. Deep down he hoped that he was wrong, that Kiyoshi wasn't truly the killer. Unfortunately, he didn't want to risk everyone's lives on an unlikely possibility. No matter how much it hurt him and Shizko, he had to prove Kiyoshi was the one that murdered Hisoka.

With a regretful sigh, Leon spoke up "I find your last few words strange, Kiyoshi. While Isamu was searching the washroom, she found a scalpel hidden in the washer. But none of us had mentioned it, simply because we thought the sculpting tool was the murder weapon. You were the first one to bring it up despite the fact Isamu only showed me the scalpel. So how did you know it was in there in the first place?"

A bitter smile formed on Kiyoshi's face as tears brimmed in her eyes. She was relieved that the baseball player had caught onto her purposeful slip up. With that one slip up, she hoped that her companions would finally realize the truth.  
Suddenly, without warning, everyone was startled by the sound of a loud slam filling the air. They turned to see Shizko leaning on her stand with angry tears.  
The silver-headed teen breathed heavily as her fingers curled around the edges of her stand. She refused to give up; she refused to allow everyone to vote for Kiyoshi.

Tears continued to pour down her face as she started screaming at Leon, insisting he was wrong. Her mind scrambled for hundreds of desperate claims, each one constantly insisting that she was the murderer. The last thing she wanted was to break her promise with her best friend. They had both promised that they would escape the Killing Game together, she intended to stay true to that word. Her body was practically shaking as she felt her heart pound faster and faster. With one last claim, she demanded Leon to provide the one thing that could disprove herself as the murder.

Leon clenched his teeth tightly together, feeling waves of sadness and regret wash over him. He didn't want to drive Shizko into so much despair as she desperately tried to save her friend. Deep down, he also wanted to save Kiyoshi. He wanted to do anything to keep her from dying, especially when she had yet to fulfill her dream. But just like with Kazuo, the red-head wasn't willing to sacrifice everyone's lives. No matter his feelings, Kiyoshi had to die in order to save everyone. Without a word, he closed his eyes as he thought over the course of clues for the case.

He only needed one clue in order to make sure all doubt was erased about the culprit's identity. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open when he finally remembered one detail they had yet to cover. That one detail was exactly what he needed to destroy Shizko's argument.

With his mind set, the nineteen year-old finally responded in a stern tone "When we first started the investigation, Monokuma pointed out the split paint. It's obvious that it got accidentally spilled when Hisoka's body was shoved into the supply closet, spilling paint on not only the body but the culprit's clothes as well. There's proof the washer was used since Isamu and I noticed the bits of paint still left on the washer door. If you had truly murdered Hisoka like you claimed, **then why is there still clay on your clothes?** "

Shizko felt like her entire world shattered with those final words. She glanced down to immediately see her clothes were still covered in the clay from her sculpting session. There was no way she could save Kiyoshi anymore, there was no more room for doubt.

 _Hisoka tapped his pen against his notebook, humming silently whilst he watch Kiyoshi sleep soundly in the bed. Despite the fact she hadn't been subjected to her motive, he still worried about her state. A few days ago, he had learned the girl suffered from vivid nightmares. Just from seeing a terrifying image could end up accidentally triggering her nightmares that left her in a limbo between the awakening and dreaming state. He continued to write in his notebook, thinking up possible treatments for the nightmares until he heard the sound of whimpering. The doctor lifted up his head just in time to see Kiyoshi start twisting and turning on the bed._

 _Before he could even react, he jumped back in shock as he watched the cartoonist start screaming as she flailed her arms frantically in the air. He knew instantly the teenage girl was suffering from one of her vivid nightmares. Worried about his friend hurting herself, the blonde-headed teen darted after Kiyoshi the moment she jumped out of the bed and ran toward the cabinets.  
_

 _Kiyoshi screamed with her heart pounding in fear; her turquoise eyes lost in a daze. She wasn't aware of her surroundings; all she could see was a swarm of bats trying to attack her. She continued to scream as her body slammed against the cabinets, causing a few medical supplies to fall near her hands. No matter where she looked, all she could see was the bats. She began to hyperventilate out of fear, not even noticing Hisoka's yelling to urge her to calm down. Unable to stand the bats' presence any longer, her hand curled around the nearest object near it._

 _A scared yet determined scream escaped her mouth as she stabbed the object toward the bats, paying no mind to the pained gasp. Her hand tightened around the object as she kept stabbing toward the bats, refusing to let up her attack even once. It wasn't long till finally the bats started fading away, the last of her nightmare disappearing. Kiyoshi felt relieved that it only had been another nightmare, but that relief vanished when a metallic and rusty like scent filled her nose. Without hesitation, she glanced down at the floor, only to freeze in fear._

 _Lying dead at her feet was none other than Hisoka with multiple stab wounds in his neck and chest. Her body trembled in fear as her face turned pale. She immediately understood that when she had been stabbing at the bats from her nightmare, in reality she was stabbing the doctor. Her breath hitched when she finally noticed the bloody scalpel in her hand, confirming her fears. Unsure what else to do, she slumped to the floor and started sobbing. She had murdered Hisoka Yoshio._

Everyone remained silent as they watched tears drip down Shizko's face. No longer was the serious and stern girl they met from the first day. Instead they were greeted with the sight of a broken girl that seemed to have lost everything. The scene was absolutely heartbreaking to watch, especially with the fact Shizko had became good friends with Kiyoshi over the few days. But no matter what, all the teens knew that Kiyoshi couldn't be spared. So with regret in their hearts, everyone but Shizko voted Kiyoshi as the culprit.

Monokuma chuckled in delight at seeing the despair filling the room. It pleased him to see the second trial managed to cause even more despair than the first. So long as the group of teenagers remained in despair, he knew it was guaranteed that another murder would take place. Without any hesitation, he proudly announced that everyone had been correct to vote Kiyoshi as the blackened.

With her hands curling up into two firm fists, Shizko demanded in a broken tone "Why, Kiyoshi? Why did you reveal that you knew about the scalpel? I could have saved you if you let everyone believe I was the culprit!"

A saddened yet pity filled frown formed on Kiyoshi's face as she answered "It wouldn't have felt right. I already feel horrible for Hisoka's death. It would break my heart if everyone were to die just so I can live. I'm scared of dying, but it's not worth sacrificing everyone."

The sculptor's nails dug into the palms of her hands as she bit down on her lip hard.

Suddenly, in a pleading tone, she cried out "Monokuma! I want to trade my immunity for Kiyoshi! I sabotaged the murder scene like you asked, now hold up your end of the bargain!"

Leon's body stiffened as his face turned pale. He already knew that Shizko was trying to get selected as the blackened, but he had no idea the sculptor did it on Monokuma's order.

Kiyoshi's eyes were wide in disbelief as she uttered "Shizko... tell me you're joking. Tell me that you didn't make a deal with Monokuma."

The robotic bear smiled slyly when he saw the heartbroken expression on Kiyoshi's face. It would be her final despair before her death, the despair of betrayal. His grin grew wider as his red eye glowed ominously at the despair filled sculptor.

"You better believe it sweetie!" he taunted in a dark tone, "Your pally here saw you shoving the doc's body in the supply closet. She had went to the second floor after she got worried when she didn't find you in your room. So she approached me where I made a deal. If she got everyone here to pick her as a blackened, she would be spared from the punishment. After all, the last thing she wanted was her worst fear to come true!"

Everyone was confused until they heard the sound of coughing. The group of teens immediately turned to see Shizko on her knees, coughing loudly.  
Concerned for his companion, Leon rushed over and helped the sculptor stand up. But once he did this, his breath hitched when he noticed a horrifying discovery. On his hands was a light pink liquid. He tilted his head down toward the sculptor, seeing she refused to give him eye contact. Without a word, he watched as she sighed and pulled out a bloody folded up piece of paper from her apron pocket.

The red-head frowned, staring at the paper for a few moments before finally accepting it. His frowned deepened once he unfolded the piece of paper, learning that it had been the missing page from Hisoka's notebook.

The silver-headed teen let out an exhausted sigh, taking a moment to wipe away the pink liquid from her mouth before explaining "Now you know why the page was missing. I don't know how, but Hisoka managed to find out that I've been dying this whole time. I've been dying for years now. All because of the fact I was born with a weak heart. My parents took me to every doctor they knew when I was child, but in the end, all the doctors came to the same conclusion. They estimated I would barely live into my twenties."

Tears poured down the teenage girl's face as she continued "That was my motive. The reason I don't like friends or relationships is because I'm scared of the heartbreak. What's the point of making friends with me if I'm going to die anyway? Kiyoshi is the only exception, she was my first friend. Now... I'm going to lose her. That's why I took the page, none of you would believed I was trying to escape if you've known about my weak heart."

The group fell silent, unsure how to respond the sculptor. None of them could have imagined the teenage girl was willing to go such lengths for her friend. Some felt angered that she made a deal with their captor, while others simply felt remorse.

Unfortunately, before anyone could attempt to comfort her, Monokuma spoke up "Ugh! I'm getting bored! We get it! Shizko doesn't like to lose her precious friend. I knew that already! Why do you think I even stuffed her in that cage with the bats into the first place? Geez! So with that out of the way, it's time for the moment we've all been waiting for!"

Shizko's head immediately shot up in horror. She turned toward Kiyoshi to only see the cartoonist trembling, but refusing to let her brave smile disappear from her face.

In the bravest tone she could muster, Kiyoshi began to say "Looks like I won't be able to keep our promise, Shizko."

Shizko's heart pounded in panic when she heard Monokuma say "Now I've prepared a very special punishment for Kiyoshi Etsuko, the Ultimate Cartoonist! So get ready..."

Tears began to form in the corner of the cartoonist's eyes and she finished with a partial sob "Just promise that you will survive and get out of here alive with everyone else. That's all I can ask for."

With the last of her words, the bear finally uttered the dreaded phrase "IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!"

Shizko let out one last cry of objection in one last, desperate gamble to save her friend. But unfortunately, her pleading fell on deaf ears.  
Full of glee and excitement, Monokuma slammed his gavel down on the large red button.  
Kiyoshi's breathing began to hitch, unsure what would lie in wait for her. Suddenly, without warning, a trapdoor opened up beneath her. She screamed as her body was sent hurling down a long shaft. She could barely keep her eyes opened as the wind from falling at top speed blew her light-blue hair around in her face.

She only fell for a few moments before finally landing on a large square platform. The nineteen year-old grunted in pain, surprised she managed to survive the fall. But the moment she tried to stand up, metal cuffs clamped around her ankles, pinning her in place. She was confused until a series of spotlights turned on, much similar to how they did in Kazuo's execution. Kiyoshi felt like her heart nearly stopped when she was greeted with the sight of tons of robots holding an assortment of frying pans, bats, pipes, and drying irons. The stage the robots stood on was designed like a cartoon background and in the center of the group of robots was a straight rail line that led directly to the platform she was clamped to.

Her body trembled in fear as she glanced at the sight of the wall lowering to reveal the same metal fence from Kazuo's execution. Just like the guiatarist's execution, the group of survivors were forced to watch from behind the metal fence. She frowned at the sight of Shizko desperately pulling on the fence while sobbing loudly. She didn't want to imagine how much despair her friend was going through. Her eyes glanced over at Monokuma, seeing him sit in a chair next to her, watching a TV that was broadcasting herself with a remote control in his paw.

 **A Game of Cat and Mouse: Kiyoshi Etsuko's Punishment**

Monokuma chuckled in amusement upon pressing the button on the remote control. With the press of the button, the platform Kiyoshi was clamped to was sent speeding toward the robots.  
Kiyoshi screamed in pain as her body started getting bashed and bruised by the assortment of weapons the robots wielded. Pain coursed throughout her entire body as she held her arms in front of her face, desperate to protect herself.

The pain only increased as the girl's body continued to be hurled into the assortment of objects, causing nasty bruising and swelling to form all over her body, along with some bleeding wounds. The platform ended up increasing in speed, resulting in the cartoonist to get more and more injured. She wasn't sure the pain would end until, suddenly, the platform slowed to a stop. Kiyoshi gasped in pain, coughing up bits of blood whilst she did so. Her body was battered and bruised, yet surprisingly she was still alive. Relief immediately washed over her until the sound of a snap filled the air.

Curious what the sound was, Kiyoshi looked up at the source of the sound. The moment she looked up, her eyes widened in fear as her heart felt like it stopped. She only had a second to let out one last terrified scream before a piano fell on top of her, killing her instantly.  
Shizko couldn't hold back her tears anymore from the scene she had witnessed. Not caring that Monokuma was watching, she sobbed loudly while pressing her forehead against the metal fence. Her worst fear had came true; she and the others had bare witness to the execution of Kiyoshi Etsuko.

 **Killing Game Students - 11 Remain**


	14. Chapter 14 - Refusing to Die

Chapter 14

Leon was horrified as he stared at the broken piano with a puddle of blood forming underneath it. He didn't even want to imagine what crumbled state the body that was once Kiyoshi Etsuko was left in. He inhaled sharply whilst squeezing his eyes shut, only hearing the sound of his rapidly pounding heart and the sound of Shizko's cries. It was hard for him to believe he ended up witnessing the death of a girl he had friendly chats with a few days ago. His body tensed as his mind recalled the image burned into his mind; the image of the absolute fear that was painted on Kiyoshi's face. An expression of fear and dread that was near identical to his own before Monokuma executed him.

He slowly drifted away from his thoughts when he heard Shizko quietly sob "I should have been the one to die. Not her. Kiyoshi still had her whole life to look forward to. I don't have a future in the distance. It should have been me."

Feeling both angry and saddened by the broken teen's sobbing, Seiichi demanded "Monokuma, why didn't you give Kiyoshi immunity from the punishment? You told Shizko that if she sabotaged the crime scene to convince us to vote for her, you would insure she wouldn't get punished with the rest of us. So why is it that you went ahead and executed Kiyoshi?"

The black and white bear hummed whilst casually checking his paws, acting as if he didn't pay attention to the wrestler's words.

"Oh, right, that thing. Yeah..." the bear muttered in a bored tone, taking a dramatic pause before continuing, "I never intended to keep my word. Had Shizko succeeded, she would have been punished with the rest of you guys. It was to be like her final despair. But that didn't work out thanks to little Miss Cartoon not having the guts to let you all die, oh well."

Shizko couldn't prevent a shocked gasp from escaping her mouth as she stared at Monokuma in horror, her wide eyes still full of tears. She hated that she was naive and desperate enough to think the demented bear would stay true to his word. It pained her to realize her actions had been pointless. In the end, all she managed to do was hurt Kiyoshi before she died with the knowledge of her deal. Unable to take it anymore, the girl screamed both out of frustration and agony as she darted for the elevator.

"So in other words, she almost got us all killed for no reason. Kiyoshi would have ended up alone with none of her friends. Honestly she deserves every single hate that gets thrown at her. Not only did she almost get me killed, she nearly cheated me from seeing a creative execution. Had Shizko succeeded, I would have never got to see Kiyoshi's execution!" Toshiro commented in a disgusted tone.

The moment those words left his mouth he found himself yanked by the collar. The brown-headed teen yelped out in shock, blinking in confusion as he stared into purple eyes filled with anger.  
Hideyo sneered whilst her grip on the director's collar tightened. She hated how the teenage boy paid no attention to the feelings of those around him and didn't fully comprehend the horror of watching one of their friends be killed in a brutal fashion.

"While it disgusts me that Shizko nearly got us all killed, your actions disgust me even more. Something tells me that if you were the one that going to be put through one of those "creative" executions you seem to love, your tone would change. It doesn't matter if you thought it was creative, what matters is that you're treating death like it's nothing! Kiyoshi didn't deserve to die the way she did! Kazuo didn't deserve to die the way he did! They both killed someone, but they didn't deserve something so brutal in the end! The only one at this rate that deserves to be executed is you!" she snarled.

Toshiro raised a brow out of confusion. He couldn't understand why his words seemed to constantly annoy everyone. He believed his companions should agree with him, after all, he was stating the facts. The executions required creativity and Shizko had almost killed them all thanks to misguided trust. He couldn't see a reason why everyone would be angered by his words. Frustrated that he received scolding yet again for his statements, the teenage boy grumbled before he started arguing with the stunt actress.

Leon sighed out of annoyance as the two teens' bickering began to fill the air. He agreed with Hideyo that Toshiro's statement were stupid, but he believed the black-haired girl wasn't making it any better by arguing with the aspiring director. They were all stressed and tired after losing yet another set of friends, yet he knew that arguments would only escalate the situation. If anything, that would encourage one to kill even more. The last thing anyone wanted was the killings to continue to the point that one or even none remained.

Figuring he should check up on Shizko, Leon silently headed for the elevator, doing his best to ignore the angry yells filling the courtroom. He took in deep breaths as the elevator started its ascent with some shaking. The events of Kiyoshi's execution kept constantly playing over and over again in his mind. Sweat formed on the red-head's brow as he recalled Kiyoshi discussing her excitement to share her talent and even attend Hope's Peak Academy. It pained him to think the teenage girl was hopeful for her future only to feel the despair of knowing she no longer had any future, much like himself before he died.

 _"I wouldn't be here if it weren't for that ghost. She gave me a second chance to make up for what I did. I hope that everyone that has died so far gets their second chance one day. None of them deserved to have their lives ripped away from them, they didn't deserve death."_ he thought to himself.

The nineteen year-old remembered how the ghostly girl informed him that rebirth was only for select spirits. The girl wouldn't have given him an improper rebirth if he had already been chosen for rebirth, there would be no reason for it. With this knowledge in mind, the teen could only hope that his deceased friends would be among those chosen for rebirth. It wasn't long till the elevator finally reached the first floor of the factory once more. Without hesitation, the red-head made his way through the factory's hallways, heading toward the one place he knew Shizko would be at.

Within a few moments, he finally found himself standing in front of the door leading to Kiyoshi's room. Silently he placed his hand on the doorknob; his touch lingering a bit when uneasiness washed over him that he would be stepping into a deceased person's room. With the shake of his head to help gather himself, he opened the door. Inside he found Shizko sitting in the floor.

The sculptor had taken off her safety glasses to wipe away the tears still streaking down her face and her hair was no longer in a bun, now falling around her shoulders. One would find her appearance surprisingly beautiful despite the heartbreak she was experiencing. Shizko's lip trembled as she clung onto her dead friend's sketchbook in her free hand. She flipped through each sketch, doing her best to recall the fond memories she shared with the cartoonist.  
Leon couldn't help but frown at the sight. He didn't want to imagine how much she was suffering from Kiyoshi's death.

Wishing to at least provide some kind of comfort, the baseball player spoke up "Shizko, do you need to talk about this?"

The silver-headed teen gasped in surprise before spinning toward the teenage boy. She hastily wiped away the tears from her face with her arm, nodding her head rapidly in response. A part of her wanted to reject the teen and wallow in her despair, yet the other part didn't wish for that. She desperately was seeking comfort and she considered it foolish to turn down the athlete's offer.  
Seeing that she had agreed, Leon sat down next to the sculptor without a word.

Silence managed to linger between the two teens, neither sure what to say. It was hard to come to terms that a girl they had been painting a room with was no longer among the living.  
Shizko's gaze focused on the floor with her grip on the sketchbook tightening.

Finally, after a few more moments of silence, she apologized "I'm sorry for almost getting us all killed. I wasn't thinking clearly at the time. I was just so desperate to save Kiyoshi and stay true to our promise. I don't even think she meant to murder Hisoka. It must have been because of those nightmares of hers she told me about. But even despite that, Monokuma killed her regardless. I miss her. Not only her, I miss Hisoka too. I miss them both."

The red-head inhaled deeply as he replied "I get it. When you get scared or nervous, it affects your line of thinking. It's easy to slip into that kind of mindset."

He paused for a moment, shuddering both in fear and guilt as the memory of himself staring in horror at the blood on his hands and clothes entered his mind.

Doing his best to hide the regret he was feeling, Leon continued "Don't get me wrong, I don't like that you nearly got us all killed, but I can understand your reasons. Kiyoshi was your best friend after all. You got scared for her and made reckless decisions. It was the wrong choices, but in the end, at least you didn't make such decisions because of cowardice. Had you done it because of that, you would have your guilt constantly following you, making you wonder why you didn't stop yourself before it was too late."

Shizko stared silently at the teen next to her, both shocked and touched by his words. She didn't know why, but his words seemed to carry conviction and sadness. To her, his voice seemed too somber for someone that was simply offering advice. In her mind, it seemed like Leon was speaking more from experience rather than what-if scenarios. The sculptor seemed puzzled by her analysis of the baseball player. She couldn't think of any circumstance that would cause the teen to develop such feelings. Deciding that the thoughts were too confusing to answer, she pushed them aside for the moment.

Her icy-blue eyes glanced up at her companion as a shaky sigh managed to escape her mouth. With a smile, she gently grabbed a hold of Leon's hand and gave it a small squeeze. Even though she couldn't figure the cause for the red-head's mindset, she wanted to give him some sort of comfort. After all, she now considered him her friend. She may have lost Kiyoshi, but in the cartoonist's place was someone willing to help her. She didn't believe she would form a bond as close to the one she formed with the deceased girl; regardless, she was willing to do her best.

 _"Kiyoshi, your last wish was for me to live and escape with everyone here."_ Shizko thought to herself as she smiled at Leon, _"I imagine you wanted me to become friends with the others, allowing me to move on. You would never want me to fall into despair, otherwise Monokuma wins. I'll still deeply miss you, my first friend. But regardless of my feelings, I need to honor your final wish. No matter what, illness or no illness, I will get out of here alive. For your sake, Kiyoshi."_

The next day, the remaining survivors gathered in the lunchroom for breakfast. Uneasiness filled the air as they ate in mostly silence, sparing a few occasional glances at the seats once occupied by two people.  
Leon grumbled as he munched on toast with one hand and use the other to run it through his spiky hair. There was no doubt in his mind, that Monokuma would soon appear to announce the new areas in the factory they unlocked.

Trying to pass by the time and take his mind off the annoying bear, he glanced around at his companions, gauging any of them for reactions. He noticed that Hideyo and Toshiro were still glaring daggers at each other as they sat across from each other at the table. He sighed as he shook his head, unsure how much longer the two teens could stand each other. It seemed the longer they were forced to participate in the Killing Game together, the more the two grew to despise each other. Shifting his attention away from the two angry teens, he saw Shizko doing her best attempt at striking up a conversation with Mineko and Isas.

Leon knew the sculptor was struggling to overcome her former solitary personality, knowing that it was impossible for someone to change overnight. But regardless, he was happy to see the teenage girl was putting in the effort. Finally his sights set on Seiichi, watching as the wrestler laughed while smacking his hand against Naoko's back. He couldn't help but find it interesting how friendly the black-haired teen was to everyone, always maintaining that big brother nature. Unfortunately his thoughts were shattered by the sound of familiar laughter. With a groan of frustration and dread, Leon turned around to see Monokuma standing in the entrance of the lunchroom.

"Good morning miserable people!" the bear greeted in an excited tone, "Hard to believe it's already been a week since I trapped you guys in here. On the first day, I managed to meet fifteen students full of hope. Now all I see is eleven students with dwindling hope. Wonder how many deaths it will take for the rest of you to completely fall into despair?"

"I doubt there will be anymore murders. We all saw what happened to Kiyoshi because she killed someone. If anything, it reinforces the point on why we shouldn't attempt murder. After all, past events indicate the culprit is always discovered and executed." Hiroko stated in a curt manner.

Upon hearing this, Monokuma simply tilted his head in curiosity with some mischievousness shining in his red eye.

"Oh? You sound so certain of that." the bear replied in tone that carried a hint of malice, "But as I recall, you all said the same thing after Kazuo was executed. A murder managed to happen despite his punishment scarring you all for life. Why do you think this time will be any different? Despair can make people do some very interesting things. You seem to love that analytical mind of yours, I bet it would fly out the window when despair finally breaks you."

The speech debater's body flinched while the expression of terror flashed across her face for a few brief seconds. She couldn't believe the bear actually brought up a valid counterpoint to her statement. She didn't like the idea of the killings continuing, yet she couldn't deny the possibility. She was completely surprised when she first learned of Hisoka's murder. Before that point, the nineteen year-old believed that everyone wouldn't attempt murder due to the stories of those who died to the killing games in the past. She didn't want to admit it, she didn't even want to acknowledge it, yet a part of her grew very frightened of Monokuma's influence.

Wanting to shift everyone's thoughts away from murder, Hideaki said "Stop beating around the bush, Monokuma. If you're here that means you came to tell us that you unlocked more of the factory. You said it yourself, every single time we get through a trial, we gain access to a new area of the factory."

The bear chuckled a bit before confirming the teen's theory. Excitement poured off each of his words as he announced that the students had gained access to the third floor of the factory. His body was practically bouncing in enthusiasm, anxious to see which of the teens would spark the next conflict. There was no doubt in his mind that another murder would take place, especially with his knowledge of potential breaking points. Curious of what Leon's reaction was, the black and white bear turned his head toward the red-head.

His grin grew slightly when he noticed the teen flinched a bit. He figured that the baseball player was slowly learning to get use to his presence, but he could still pick up the bits of fear still lingering in the teen. It both confused and intrigued him why Leon seemed to be frightened of his presence. It was true that the other participants were frightened of him, but not to level of Leon. There was also the mystery as to why the teen seemed to have too much experience for someone experiencing their first Killing Game.

 _"Actually, studying him closely right now, I feel like I've seen his face before. Not from the files on him that were given to me by my spies, but somewhere else. Grah, my mind is drawing a blank! Where did I see his face from?"_ Monokuma thought to himself, his face turning red as he got frustrated.

"Uh... does anyone know why the freaky bear is getting mad?" Naoko asked, stirring the bear from his thoughts, "He was all excited, but then started getting mad when he looked at Leon."

"Don't look at me! I didn't do anything to make him mad! I've been quiet this whole time!" Leon snapped in defense.

The sprint runner shrugged his shoulders as he offhandedly suggested "Maybe he hates how you keep solving the murders. I don't know. I mean, both Kazuo and Kiyoshi were able to be successfully identified thanks to you. Good thing too, otherwise we all would have died."

Shizko clenched her teeth in anger. Without any hesitation, she slapped her hand against the back of the ginger-haired teen's head, earning a yelp of pain from him. Despite knowing the teen didn't mean any ill-will with his words, it still infuriated her that he unintentionally made Kiyoshi's death sound like a good thing. The sculptor had mostly comes to terms with her best friend's death, but a part of her still deeply grieved for her loss.  
Growing tired of the teen's antics, Monokuma yelled in anger, prompting everyone to grow quiet in the room.

"Will you guys knock it off! I like conflict, but not stupid conflict like this! Jeez!" he grumbled with his arms crossed, "Now stop chit-chatting and go explore the third floor already!"

With the last of the words, the black and white bear stormed out of the lunchroom.  
The group of teens stared at each other in confusion. They couldn't figure why the bear got so annoyed with what was only small bickering among friends. Deciding to ignore the confusing moment, the group left the lunchroom. None of them were sure of what they would discover on the newly opened floor, but one thing they all hoped for was that the new location would not become yet another murder scene.


	15. Chapter 15 - The Graduate

Chapter 15

Leon's hands clenched slightly as he and his companions made their way up to the third floor of the factory. He desperately wanted the third floor be the last area they explore by having no more killings happen. But unfortunately, the teen knew this was only hopeful thinking on his part. To him it seemed that no matter how much his companions tried to prevent it, there was always that one slip up that allowed for a killing. For Jin, it was when she decided to follow Kazuo; for Hisoka, it was when he decided to secretly watch over Kiyoshi during the night.

His fingers dug deeper into the palms of his hands as he started transcending the set of stairs to the third floor. The paranoia he constantly felt since the Killing Game started only grew. He couldn't risk dying, especially when his soul was at risk of being lost. But despite his paranoia, a part of him even dreaded for his friends. The last thing he wanted was to watch his friends continue to be picked off one by one, much like Makoto did in the original killing game.

 _"Takes a lot of endurance and persistence to stay sane while watching your friends die. I'm going to have to compliment Makoto on that. Makes me feel even more guilty that I tried to throw him under the bus just to save myself. He did a good thing pinpointing me as the murderer as much as I hate to admit it. Had I succeeded, I would have been greeted with the sight of a devastated world and the despairful guilt of the knowledge that I had killed all my friends for no reason."_ he thought to himself as he climbed the final few steps of the staircase.

The group of teen remained silent as they glanced around at the unexplored third floor. Unlike the second and first floors, instead of hallways consisting of many room, the third floor was a large and open room. Filling the room the room was an assortment of shelves with large brown packages placed on them.  
Curious of what the packages contained, Hideaki made his way over to one of the boxes and reached inside. His brows raised in surprise before he pulled out a long rope that had been tied into a loop.

"Based on the look of this room, it seems this is where the packages containing products the factory made were stored before they were shipped off to customers." Isas theorized with his arms crossed, "My guess is that this abandoned factory was once a place where they manufactured ropes."

"Monokuma sure does love providing us dangerous weapons. He wants to insure to give us every chance to commit a murder in an attempt to escape." Toshiro noted, "After all, that's how Kazuo and Kiyoshi were able to carry out their murders."

"That better be the end of your sentence. Because I swear, if you make one peep about hoping for a class trial, I'll wring your neck!" Hideyo replied in a bitter tone.

The two teens spun toward each other with burning glares in their eyes; both of them snarling out of hatred. Fortunately, the two found themselves separated by none other than Seiichi thanks to the wrestler placing his hands on their heads and gently pushing them apart.

"Now's not time to be fighting among ourselves. I think we should all split up and search the floor." the black-haired teen advised, "While I know the chances are slim, there's a possibility we could find a way out of here. Not only that, but we can keep an eye out for any dangerous weapons to prevent anymore killings. Alright, let's do this."

Without another word, the group of teens split up in order to explore the third floor.  
Leon was about to leave to conduct his own search until he felt someone grab him by the shoulder. Curious who had stopped him, he turned to see Hiroko staring at him with her usual determined yet professional presence.  
Hiroko didn't waste any time explaining how she wished to investigate with the red-head.

The purple-headed teen couldn't help but find herself intrigued with the baseball player. It impressed her how he managed to unravel the mysteries behind the two murders; an achievement she never considered given the nineteen year-old's status as the Ultimate Baseball Star. She hoped that by investigating the third floor with him, she could gain some answers behind his surprising deductions skills. Much to her relief, Hiroko was pleased to see Leon accept the offer. She didn't even know what she would have done had the teen rejected her request.

Without another word, the two teenagers began exploring the third floor of the factory. Nothing seemed odd or strange among the shelves full of boxes, leaving the two wondering how Monokuma could gain anything by giving them access to the room.  
Leon kept silently examining each shelf he walked by, quickly growing bored of the tedious task. He was about to give up until he spotted something from the corner of his eyes. Without any hesitation, he quickly turned to see a ghostly blue figure disappear around the corner of the shelves.

 _"Wait, is that the ghost of that girl I encountered after I died? I can't believe her spirit is still lingering after all these years."_ he thought to himself, _"Guess she was drawn to the despair in this factory. But I don't get it, exactly where is she going? It's almost as if she wants me to follow her."_

Seeing no other explanation for the ghost's appearance, he quickly chased after her with a confused Hiroko trailing behind him. He quickly ran through a series of the shelves, only managing to catch glimpses of the ghostly aura disappearing behind the different shelves. He kept running until finally, much to his confusion, he discovered a single door located in the back of the room. His brows furrowed together in puzzlement, searching for any signs of the despairful spirit. But no mater where he searched, he could see no signs of the ghostly girl. His thoughts were shattered by the sound of Hiroko panting as she finally caught up to him.

The purple-headed girl wheezed and gasped whilst she planted her hands on her knees. She never anticipated Leon to be capable of such speed. She couldn't help but feel foolish at how she had forgotten the fact the athlete required speed for the sport he played.

"Warn me next time you decide to take off like a rocket." she managed to gasp out whilst slowly catching her breath, "Why did you even take off? I saw you staring at nothing and next thing I knew, you took off like you were getting chased."

Upon hearing this, Leon began to rub the back of his neck out of nervousness. He wasn't quite sure how to explain to the speech debater that he had been following a ghost that couldn't been seen by her. Believing he needed to give some sort of explanation, he opened his mouth to speak until he noticed the teenage girl staring past him in shock. He didn't know what had the purple-headed girl stunned until she gently pushed him aside to get a closer look at the door he stood in front of.

Hiroko's ruby red eyes were wide as she placed her hand on the door knob, intensely focusing on the gold plaque that read "File Room." She couldn't believe Leon managed to stumble on such an important room simply by chance. Hoping the room contained answers for the reason behind their kidnapping, she opened the door without a word. Once inside, she was greeted by a dark room with very poor lighting.

"Looks like this factory has been out of use for longer than we thought." Leon commented as he entered the room, noting the duty file drawers.

The speech debater hummed whilst pressing her hand against her chin. She found it strange that the room had been unlocked. In her mind, she believed Monokuma would have the room locked up to prevent anyone from entering, especially if it contained crucial information concerning their location of capture. Deciding to test her theory, she walked over to one of the file drawers. With a firm grip on the handle, Hiroko pulled open the drawer, causing dust to scatter in the air. She coughed a bit before taking a look inside the drawer.

"Find anything?" the red-head asked out of curiosity.

"Nothing much, except for this." the nineteen year-old girl replied as she pulled out a single black folder.

She flipped the folder to its front, closely examining it for details. But the moment she did this, her heart nearly stopped at what she discovered. On the front of the folder was none other than the Hope's Peak Academy emblem.  
Panic and confusion filled Leon's mind whilst he stared at the folder in his companion's hands. He didn't understand why such a file would be hidden away in the file room of an abandoned factory. The only reason that came to his mind was that the file was connected to the Mastermind behind the killing game.

The teen grumbled as he pressed his hand against his head, growing sick at the idea the Mastermind having a possible connection to Hope's Peak Academy. The thought of it only reminded him of the demented classmate he wished to forget. His body tensed in frustration and guilt; his mind filled with images of the girl with the twisted grin listing all the ways she could imagine him dying in baseball. He wished he had caught onto Junko's intentions before he and his friends were forced to play the game that claimed his life. Fortunately, the teen was drawn away from his thoughts at the sound of Hiroko calling out his name.

"Leon, I really need you to come look at this." the speech debater urged; her body leaning over the open file laying on the table.

Curious of the information that the file contained, the red-head didn't waste anytime walking over to his friend. With only a small bit of worry filling him, he glanced down at the file before him. The moment he did so, his breath hitched as he frantically read through the words in the file. Inside the file was details for a graduate of Hope's Peak Academy. While the name and ultimate status was strangely missing, the file revealed the graduate was recognized for their social standing due to their family lineage.

"Wait, so the Mastermind behind this Killing Game is possibly a Hope's Peak Academy student?!" Leon exclaimed, feeling disturbed his suspicions were correct.

"Well, at least they were." Hiroko replied with a small hum, "According to this file, the person in question already graduated from Hope's Peak Academy. But even with this information, I'm having trouble believing the Mastermind is a Hope's Peak graduate, especially with the precautions the headmaster took."

Unfortunately much to her disappointment, she easily noticed the confusion plastered on the baseball player's face. Seeing she needed to explain, the purple-headed girl sighed before revealing that she had already been accepted into Hope's Peack Academy. It annoyed her to remember that she was only mere days away from attending the high esteemed school before her kidnapping. She already had been scouted and fulfilled all the requirements in order to complete the transfer. Unfortunately all of that was ripped away from her due to the deadly game she was forced to play.

Directing her thoughts back to the current matter at hand, she began to explain "Once an Ultimate student has been recruited by a scout, they are to be interviewed by the headmaster Makoto Naegi. Those not classified as Ultimates do require an interview as well, but those are handled differently due to the subject matter. Back to our current focus, Makoto Naegi conducted these interviews personally in order to determine if the student contained good qualities concerning moral. This is to insure the school will never take in another person like Junko Enoshima ever again. If the Mastermind is truly anything like Junko Enoshima, they must have done well to keep their records clean and not give any hints to their dark intents."

Leon didn't utter a single word as he listened to the girl's explanation. It stunned him to learn of the different precautions Makoto had taken in an attempt to keep tragedy from befalling Hope's Peak Academy once again. He had no idea his former friend was taking such precautions, especially when he was doing everything in his power to stay away from the school due to the bad memories it held. A part of him couldn't help but admire him, impressed that his old classmate had the bravery to face the demons of his past.

 _"Unlike me. All this time I've just been trying to bury them. Of course, it's probably easier for him to face his past considering he didn't kill anyone. Unlike me."_ he thought to himself as his fist clenched slightly.

Shifting his focus back to the present, the red-head asked "So, do you think we should tell the others about what we found? It's best to not try to keep these kind of things hidden considering keeping secrets is what got Hisoka killed."

Hiroko tapped her chin in thought, considering all of her options before answering "You're right. Though perhaps we should tell them in a more secluded area, out of view from the cameras. We can't risk the Mastermind discovering we found this file. Should they find out, they'll probably use Monokuma to steal the file back. I don't think they'll know we have the file right now since this room is poorly lit."

Understanding her reasons, Leon nodded his head in agreement.  
Without another word, the two left the file room, closing the door behind them. They did their best to make it appear that they had been searching the shelves as they made their way back to the center of the room. Once there, the two teens were greeted with the sight of the rest of their friends gathered together.

"So you two finally showed up. What took you so long? We've been waiting quite a while for you two." Isas asked with his arms crossed, "Did you find anything of importance?"

Remembering Hiroko's concern, Leon lied "Unfortunately no. I thought that there could have been some unsealed windows near the back of the room. All we found was nothing but shelves."

The race car driver sighed as he pressed his gloved hands against the temple of his forehead. It frustarted him that his own search ended up proving to be just as fruitless as everyone else's.

"For someone who claims to have found nothing, it sure took you both a while to come to that conclusion. I came with that conclusion within a minute or so." Toshiro commented in arrogant tone, "If you ask me, I think the two of you weren't even searching and were probably off busy making out or something. What else would you two being doing alone?"

Hideaki's face immediately turned blood red upon hearing the director's comment. Not out of embarrassment, but rather anger.

Without any hesitation, the forensicist spun toward the arrogant teen and snapped "Hiroko is not like that! She would never goof of on the job! Hiroko is the most dedicated and focused person I've ever known! If you had any ounce of respect for her, you would withdraw that statement! Besides, Hiroko would never cheat on me with Leon! Actually she wouldn't cheat at all!"

At that moment, nearly everyone in the room, except for Hiroko, were shocked at the teenage boy's words. Up till that point, none of them ever heard any mention of the two of them dating each other. Everyone had noticed the two teens seemed to share familiarity and fondness for each other, but it never crossed anyone's minds that the two were dating. Suddenly, everyone's thoughts were shattered by the sound of coughing. The group of teens turned toward the sound, without any hesitation, to see Hiroko staring at them with her eyes narrowed.

"Since you all seem shocked, it is true that Hideaki and I knew each other prior to being forced into this Killing Game and have been dating for a while now." the purple-headed teen stated in a professional manner, "The two of us agreed that this information seemed unimportant to inform you all of, hence why we both remained silent about it up to this point. Now with that out of the way, shall we focus on our current objective? We have yet to hear if anyone else managed to find something."

Seeing the speech debater didn't wish to discuss her love-life, Isamu spoke up "Well, I managed to find the shower rooms. They're located on the left of the stairs with a large passage way as the entrance. A large wall separates a series of stalls, one side is for the men while the other is for women. I also noticed the lack of security cameras in there for obvious reasons."

Having gained an idea from the robotics expert's discovery, Hiroko immediately suggested "Well that's great news. It has been quite a while since any of us washed. Us girls will head into the showers first and the boys can head to their side at a later point of time. After all, I think it's only fair us ladies get to test the showers first."

Leon didn't even need to guess to immediately understand why the teenage girl suggested they all take showers. While he was sure some of it was because they hadn't had a chance to clean up for a week, he knew the biggest reason was to take advantage of the lack of cameras. With no cameras in the shower rooms, they could all discuss the contents of the file with any worry of the Mastermind finding out. Though despite the lack of cameras, he understood why Hiroko had suggested the girls head to showers first and have the boys enter their respective side later.

If they all entered the shower room at the same time, it would most likely come off as suspicious and alert Monokuma. Having an idea of the teenage girl's plan, Leon shrugged his shoulders as he agreed to the suggestion, surprising some of his male companions. With the plan set, the group of teens finally left the third floor, leaving Monokuma unaware of their intentions.


	16. Chapter 16 - Showers

Chapter 16

"So exactly how much of a head start were we suppose to give the girls? Hiroko never really clarified that small detail." Naoko asked while leaning back in his chair.

Following Hiroko's request, Leon and the rest of the male participants had gathered in the lunchroom, debating at what point of time they should head up to the shower rooms. None of them, not even the red-head himself knew exactly how long they should wait before they head to the third floor. Some wished to not prolong the wait any long, but hesitated at the thought of going alone.

Believing his companions sought any kind of answer, Hideaki finally spoke up "I say we wait in here for just a few more minutes before heading up. Gives a chance for the girls to get settled. Last thing we need is someone getting any perverted ideas and peeking in on them while they're changing. Especially while my girlfriend is in there."

None of the teenage boys responded to that comment as all of their faces turned blood red. None of them considered peeking in on the girls in the first place, yet they still found themselves flustered and embarrassed by the forensicist's comment.  
Leon grunted as he dug his fingers into his red hair, hundreds of thoughts running through his mind. Everything seemed to cause him to slip deeper and deeper into confusion. The appearance of the mysterious ghost he could only see, the possibility of the Mastermind being a Hope's Peak Academy graduate, the Mastermind's motives; all of it left the teenager in a puzzled state.

His fingers curled in frustration as his teeth clenched. He could feel the very same anger that bubbled up in him during his first killing game rising once more. The nineteen year-old didn't even have to guess to know the cause of his frustration. Over the course of the week he and his friends remained trapped in the factory, he had grown tired of everything. Tired of the killings, tired of losing his friends, tired of being scared. A sigh of exhaustion managed to escape his mouth as he rested his head on top of the table, feeling the urge to simply sleep off his frustration.

The red-head took in deep breaths as his eyelids began to droop, allowing his body to slip into unconsciousness. But before he could he begin his nap, he felt a strong yet firm hand grab a hold of his shoulder. With a yelp of surprise, Leon felt himself swiftly pulled back into a sitting position at the table. His pale-blue eyes were wide in shock and confusion. Wondering who had lifted him up, he turned to see Seiichi sitting next to him with his hand still firmly gripping his shoulder.

"Noticed you seemed a little disturbed. If this about Kiyoshi, you're free to talk to me about it. I know you and Shizko became pretty close friends with her before she died." the wrestler commented with a smile, "With Hisoka unable to provide his chats, I'm going to have to pick up the slack for him. I'm no doctor, but I'll do my best to listen and offer advice."

The baseball player pursed his lips in thought, carefully considering the wrestler's offer. At first, he thought about simply lying and insisting that he was fine, but quickly scrapped that idea upon feeling the teen's grip on his shoulder tighten slightly. Despite Seiichi's kind and brotherly nature, Leon couldn't help but find him intimidating due to his muscled body. Failing to hide his nervousness with his mouth twitching into an awkward smile, he slowly nodded his head in response.  
Seeing the teen before him accepted his help, Seiichi laughed whilst giving a few pats on the the teen's shoulder, earning a few grunts of pain from him.

"Great to see you're willing to talk." the black-haired teen commented, "Besides it will be a great time killer until we hit the showers. So exactly what has been eating at ya?"

Seeing it was no use in attempting to hide anything from the wrestler, Leon sighed before responding "To be honest, this entire Killing Game. I've been nervous and frustrated the moment I woke up in this factory. It's only gotten worse with every death. It's because of things like this that I'm not really the optimist I once was."

"No longer an optimist? So in other words, you think we're never going to get out of here and everyone will die." Seiichi replied in a more stern tone.

Upon hearing the nineteen year-old's words, the red-head instantly exclaimed in panic "Yes! I mean no! I mean... Gah! It's complicated! How the hell can I just sit in here and just hope things are going to be alright? I made that damn mistake once in my past and it led to me making a stupid decision that I constantly regret! I just hate feeling so freaking helpless in this situation! I want this whole hellish ordeal over with!"

A frown slowly formed on Seiichi's face as he slowly shook his head. He couldn't imagine what kind of torment his friend was going through. He could remember how worried he had been when he witnessed the teen's first PTSD attack. At the time, he was baffled and stunned, wondering what kind of tragic event could leave the baseball player in the state where a dead body triggered a panic attack. But now, the gears in his mind began turning as he connected the dots. The wrestler was slightly unnerved how his friend's words of frustration seemed to line up nicely with the ones he uttered in his panicked state.

He didn't want to admit it out loud, but he couldn't help but suspect the teenager before him might have killed someone. He couldn't figure any other reason for why he would mention a decision he regrets and how he kept claiming that he didn't murder Jin in his panicked state. His brows furrowed together whilst he stared at the red-headed teen before him, studying the disturbed yet nervous details on his face. To him, Leon didn't look like someone who wanted to murder, leaving him to partially doubt his suspicions.

Deciding to push away his puzzled filled thoughts, Seiichi finally spoke up "I can't even imagine what's going on in your head, Leon. I've known that from the moment we all saw your PTSD attack when you saw Jin's dead body. Yet there is one thing I can understand and it's the feeling of frustration at being helpless."

The wrestler sighed before he began to explain himself. His voice was filled with a sense of seriousness that was rare for him whilst his eyes were filled with determination. He didn't hesitate a single time as his story unfolded, stating that the source of his own frustration was due to the lack of control over the situation.

"Being the youngest boy in a family with seven boys and one girl, you can imagine I got in a lot of scuffles." he said with a sigh, "Since I was smaller than my six older brothers, I didn't quite have the advantage strength wise. I didn't want to keep losing those scuffles just because I was the youngest brother. So I began taking matters into my own hands. I began to to learn how to read my brothers' movements and use their strength against them. The more I participated, the better I got at turning the tables in my favor. Next thing I knew, I never lost a single wrestling match with my brothers ever again. Needless to say, I had so much fun and loved the adrenaline of wrestling that I continued to expand on those skills to the point I was officially recognized as an Ultimate and set to attend Hope's Peak Academy."

The black-haired did his best to prevent his smile from slipping away. He didn't want anyone to see how truly scared he was of the Killing Game, especially when such fear had cost them the lives of four of their friends. His fists clenched slightly as he thought about how powerless Monokuma made him. Normally he would be able to assess the situation and take precautions to turn events toward his favor. But with the robotic bear controlling nearly every aspect of their daily lives in the factory, he couldn't see anything he could use to give himself the upper hand.

He sighed once more before continuing, "You say you're no longer an optimist, but I have a hard time believing that. To be honest, Leon, if that were the case, you probably would have been the first one to kill someone rather than Kazuo. You would have done so because you would be convinced that killing was the only way out. Yet you didn't and I think your regret for your mistake is only part of it. If you ask me, I think you deep down have hope that we'll escape this thing alive. That's how I know you're still an optimist."

Leon's breath hitched with his face turning pale. He couldn't prevent his body trembling a bit as his memories drifted back to Sayaka's murder. He could remember the fear and panic running through his mind, clouding his mind from thinking logically. Not wishing to breakdown in front of his companions, he took in shaky breaths as his arms curled tightly around himself. The thought that he could have been the first murderer yet again unnerved the red-head, especially with the wrestler's claim that his guilt wouldn't be enough to stop him. His body kept shaking until he felt two firm grips placed on his shoulders.

He gasped as his head immediately shot up, finding himself staring face to face with the wrestler. He could see the smile was no longer painted on the black-haired teen's face, instead replaced with a stern frown.

Mustering up the best gentle tone he could, Seiichi spoke up "Leon, stay calm. I'm sorry about what I said. I didn't consider saying such words would accidentally trigger your PTSD. Just remain calm and remember, you're safe and you haven't killed anyone. You will never kill anyone. Got it?"

The red-head slowly nodded his head in response, his body still shuddering slightly. Despite being intimidated by the teen earlier, it surprised him how much kindness the wrestler held. He had to admit that the nineteen year-old was right, he truly was like the big brother of the group. Fortunately it only took a few moments for his breathing to slow as he reentered a calm state. Now no longer suffering from his regret filled memories of the past, he gave his friend a small smile of gratefulness.

"It's alright, Seiichi. I know you were just trying to help." he insured, "My PTSD is something I don't like talking about to anyone, so I can understand why you unknowingly triggered it. But either way, I think I get what you were saying. You think I'm still an optimist because I keep pushing forward, believing that things will turn out alright. I guess in a way, you're right. I've gotten this far haven't I? No way I can turn back down now; doing so would only be dishonoring our dead friends."

Upon hearing this, the wrestler let out a hearty laugh. It relieved him to hear his friend forgave him for his mistake. While he didn't know what kind of mistake Leon had made in order for him to almost slip into a panic attack from his words, for the moment he was glad the teenager was back in a calm state. Suddenly, he found himself drawn out of his thoughts when he heard Hideaki announce that it was time to head to the shower rooms. With a small grunt Seiichi stood up from his seat, stretching his back upon doing so.

"Like I said, our chat made for a great time killer. Well let's go hit the showers." he commented.

Leon chuckled slightly before getting up from his seat. He didn't know if the rest of his male companions had listened in on his discussion, but even then, he didn't care. Before, he was slipping into uncertainty and frustration, but now he was more confident thanks to Seiichi's talk. He didn't know how things would turn out and a part of him was still terrified of dying to the Killing Game yet again, but he refused to let that fear hold him back. No matter what, he intended to do everything in his power to escape with his remaining friends.

Without another word, the group of teenage boys headed up to the third floor. It only took a few minutes for them to climb the long set of stairs. But once they got there, they all froze in front of the shower rooms entrance. They heard the sound of running water and saw the steam that lingered in the air, revealing to them that the girls were still in the middle of taking showers.

"I didn't think they would still be showering." Leon muttered, having expected the girls to already be finished and waiting to discuss the file.

"Guess we have no choice to head over to our side. So, which side did Hiroko say the girls will be using?" Isas asked.

At that moment, all the boys' faces turned pale with realization. Hiroko had never told them which side of the shower rooms they were taking, leaving them with no idea of which side to enter.

Suddenly, without warning, Naoko exclaimed "I think I can guess which side is ours! I think it's this one!"

Before anyone could stop him, the sprint runner dashed into the pathway on the right leading into the shower rooms. Only the sound of water and his footsteps could be heard until it was shattered by the sound of a girl's scream.  
Leon flinched with his nose scrunched up in embarrassment as he could hear Naoko's panicked yells along with the angry shouts of the girls. He didn't even have to guess to know the ginger-headed teen had entered the side the girls were using.

The yells of both panic and anger continued until finally Naoko dashed out of the shower rooms. His chest heaved whilst his eyes were wide in panic; his appearance in complete disarray. He took in frantic and panicked breaths, mindlessly wiping away the blood dripping from his busted lip.

Finally, with a groan of pain, he uttered "Note to self, never run in on girls while they're showering. Especially if Hideyo Rei happens to be among those girls."

With the last of his words leaving his mouth, the teen's yellow eyes rolled backwards before he collapsed on the floor.  
Hideaki sighed with the shake of his head, considering it a foolish idea for the teenager to blindly pick a side. A part of him didn't want to help the sprint runner back to his feet, especially with the realization that he had seen his girlfriend showering, but he knew it would be unwise to leave the teen unconscious on the floor. So begrudgingly, he knelt down and lifted Naoko up by the arm, helping him into the shower rooms.

Leon remained speechless as he carefully studied the inside of the shower rooms as he entered. To his surprise, he saw the wall that separated the men's side from the women's didn't reach all the way to the ceiling, allowing them to hear everything happening on the girl's side. The shower stalls themselves didn't offer any kind of cover, their only separation being narrow walls made out of tile.

He found himself drawn away from his thoughts by Hideyo yelling "Next time you perverts need to shout to check what side we're using before dashing in!"

"I think they get the message, Hideyo." Shizko spoke up from her stall, "I don't think Naoko is stupid enough to do the same stunt twice."

Curious of why they were still showering, Leon asked "Hiroko, why were you and the girls still using the showers? I thought you would be done so we can all discuss the file from Hope's Peak Academy we found."

"You found what?!" Isas exclaimed, stunned to learn the baseball player had lied to him about his search turning up fruitless.

Before the red-head could even answer, Hiroko began to explain for the reason of the showers still being in use. She feared that Monokuma would grow suspicious if they stayed in the shower rooms without using any water. It was true that there were no cameras located within the shower rooms, but the same couldn't be said for the outside. Monokuma would still be able to see anyone enter and leave the shower rooms with ease.

"So by taking showers, the steam from the hot water should appear on the camera located in the storage room. That will give Monokuma the impression that we're all only taking showers. So unless you want our cover to get blown, I suggest you boys start up your showers as well. Besides you could use them, you all haven't showered in a week." Hiroko finished in her typical professional tone.

Leon furrowed his brows together out of awkwardness, feeling slightly nervous that he would be showering next to the girls even though a large wall separated them. Feeling a bit hesitant, yet knowing the speech debater had brought up a valid point, he entered the stall of his choice and took off his clothes. His body flinched a bit the moment the hot water made contact with his bare skin; a feeling he had forgotten over the course of the week of his imprisonment. Desperate to take his mind off the awkwardness of the situation, he began to explain about the mysterious file he and Hiroko found.

"So our Mastermind may be an Ultimate like us? How unoriginal. Almost as annoying as the temperature water from this stupid shower head. It's either freezing cold or scolding hot, I can't get the balance I require!" Toshiro complained whilst banging his fist against the wall.

"No one cares, Toshiro!" Hideyo snapped before continuing in a calmer tone, "So Leon, you're saying that the Ultimate attended Hope's Peak Academy once. You think that might be how they found out about us? I think all of us at one point or another has been scouted by Hope's Peak Academy. Whether or not we accepted the offer to attend, our names would be on the list."

The red-head shook his head as he disagreed, ignoring the water slinging off his wet hair. The way the file described the mysterious graduate, it seemed they had stopped attending Hope's Peak Academy many years ago. He knew this meant that school would have yet to consider recruiting any of them due to still being children around the time the Mastermind attended. If the Mastermind didn't learn of them through Hope's Peak Academy's scouting list, that left him to wonder exactly when the mysterious Ultimate learned of and targeted them.

"Still, if the Mastermind is a Hope's Peak graduate, I think I now understand how they were able to nearly perfectly replicate the tactics and details that went into Junko's killing game." Hideaki mentioned with a hum, "When I was reading up on Hope's Peak Academy after one of their scouts approached me, I learned the headmaster actually has an entire section of the library dedicated to the history of The Tragedy, otherwise known as 'The Biggest, Most Awful, Tragic Event in Human History'. It details every single event that happened during those despairful years, especially the killing game Junko Enoshima held at the school. It's reasonable to believe that the Mastermind did their research in order to prepare their own Killing Game."

"But why would someone want to recreate that awful event that claimed so many innocent lives?" Mineko asked with a frown, "It was horrible then and it's horrible now."

No one held an answer for the music composer, allowing the only sound to fill the air was that of running water. Even with the new information concerning the Mastermind, they were still no where near close to discovering the reason behind the mysterious Ultimate's motives. They didn't know if the Mastermind was a Remnant of Despair that managed to linger after the Tragedy ended, or if they simply shared the same twisted mindset as Junko Enoshima. All the knew was that the Mastermind had full knowledge of the dirty tactics the demented high school girl herself used; that included the motives as well. With this revelation in mind, all of them couldn't help but dread what kind of motive Monokuma intended to use to fill them with despair next.


	17. Chapter 17 - Family Matters

Chapter 17

The next day, Leon grumbled as he drowsily lifted his head from his pillow, the sound of the morning announcement blaring in his ears. He grunted as he sat up on his bed, frustrated that he has grown to expect Monokuma's announcements every morning to wake him up. Knowing that everyone was to meet in the lunch room per usual, the nineteen year-old pulled on his jacket, shirt, and shoes before heading to the door. But the moment he opened up the door, he was immediately greeted with an unwanted sight.

"Well looks who's up! Puhuhu! Just in time for me to tell you my news!" Monokuma chuckled with a hint of slyness.

Leon couldn't help but glare at the bear before him. The fear he once felt from the demented bear's constant presence slowly faded the longer he remained in the factory, replaced with the feelings of anger and frustration. But despite these feelings now being more dominant, a small bit of fear still managed to linger every single time he saw the robotic bear.

"Let me guess, you want us to gather for the motive." Leon asked with exasperated sigh, "I figured the topic would pop up sooner or later considering you didn't announce it the same day we explored the new area, unlike last time."

Monokuma didn't respond to the teen's comment. Instead he remained uncharacteristically silent as he stared up at the nineteen year-old. While the bear was amused by the fear and uncertainty that flashed across the teen's face for a few brief seconds at his silence, his mind was mostly preoccupied with the debate of whether or not to explain his absence the previous day. One side of him didn't wish to share any kind of info to the participants, yet the other side was interested in watching the group of teens' curiosity get peeked.

He was especially interested in witnessing Leon's curiosity; a teenager that still continued to puzzle and intrigue him. He knew the teen was different from the other participants, a fact evident by his mysterious large amount of experience he seemed to carry and his strangely familiar face.

After a few moments in thought, the bear finally said "If you must know, I was searching for something that went missing. This item was utmost importance and should be recovered immediately. Of course I have no intention of telling you what that item is."

Leon's brow raised out of confusion and surprise. It was obvious to him that Monokuma was referring to the file he and Hiroko found, yet the part that surprised him was Monokuma's voice. As he listened to the robotic bear's response, he noticed how uncharacteristically professional the bear spoke. During his previous encounters, Monokuma only ever slipped out of the persona Junko established for him during small fits of rage. Yet during all those encounters, Leon knew the bear never took on the professional tone he was currently using.

 _"Junko never presented Monokuma in such a tone from what I remember."_ he thought to himself, _"There's no reason for him to slip into a tone that seems so out of character unless he had no intention of staying in character. But that would mean, the tone I heard isn't the Monokuma persona but rather the Mastermind's true personality."_

Unfortunately, before he could delve any further into his thought process, his thoughts were interrupted by Monokuma saying "Got the gears turning in your head didn't I? Well youse got no time to be sitting there until your brain fries from overload. After all, you need to head over to the Business Room for an important announcement. Better not be late you chump! Puhuhu!"

The red-head didn't utter a single word as he watched the bear walk out of his sights. The strange out of character moment still puzzled him, but for the moment, he didn't care. Knowing he couldn't keep the robotic bear waiting, much to his annoyance, he grumbled under his breath as he made his way to the Business Room. It only took a few minutes for the baseball player to arrive at his destination. He silently entered the room to see the rest of his companions had already gathered, yet there was no sign of Monokuma.

"I can't believe this. He demands we all gather in here, yet he doesn't show up. I swear, sometimes that bear is the biggest hypocrite I ever met." Isas commented with his arms crossed.

"Based on past interactions, he's most likely doing it on purpose. All he's ever done is try to get under our skin in order to make us more susceptible to the idea of murder." Hiroko stated, her eyes narrowed in both thought and suspicion.

Before anyone could say anything else, the sound of familiar laughter filled the air once more. Without any hesitation, the group of teens turned to see Monokuma's head poke out from underneath the desk.

"I was here the whole time. I just was curious to what you guys would act like if you thought I wasn't in the room. It's hilarious to see how angry some of you got! I should pull this stunt more often." the bear taunted as he sat down in his black chair.

Toshiro rolled his eyes with a bored sigh before commenting "Stick to the material you're good with, Monokuma. I find your idea of pranks and jokes quite boring and unoriginal. I have quite high expectations for this killing game. Don't make me lower them because of the stupidity you call 'humor'."

The black and white bear couldn't help but snort in anger at the director's words. The last thing he wanted was for any of the teens to treat him as an object to fulfill their entertainment needs. Seeing no need to delay his announcement any longer, the demented bear opened up the drawer on his desk and pulled out a stack of photos. His grin grew larger in slyness whilst he carefully laid out each photo on the desk, allowing each teen to have a clear view of the photos. Delight filled him as he watched each of teenagers immediately become horrified from gazing at the photos.

Millions of thoughts raced through Leon's mind as he stared at the photos. It horrified him to see some of the photos were of none than his friends and family. He could see some images of his teammates from baseball, his childhood friends, and even photos of his mother. He found himself terrified and confused by the photos' existence, wondering how Monokuma managed to even take them in the first place. But regardless of the confusing questions filling his mind, he could tell the rest of his friends shared the same thoughts by the horrified expressions painted on their faces.

Seeing all the teens were now in the proper mindset for his announcement, Monokuma began in a sinister tone "So by looking at these photos, one thing should be clear to all of you. I know exactly who's close to each of you. After all, you guys have tons of important figures in your life. Too bad that's turning out to be a bad thing in this case! Puhuhu!"

The black and white bear paused for a moment to lean over his desk in an ominous fashion before continuing "So let me give it to ya chumps straight. This is your third motive to kill. All of you can ask me about only person close to you. I mean it, only one! Just tell me their name and I'll immediately tell you what's been happening to them since you guys been trapped in this factory. I think it's only fair since you poor suckers have been left in the dark about the outside world."

"A-Ask about someone close to us? L-li-like my mom?" Naoko stuttered in an uneasy tone, growing nervous yet eager about the state of his mother.

The demented bear opened his mouth to reply, yet found himself cut off by Hiroko exclaiming "We're not going to ask you for anything! All these motives have done is get someone killed. You made it clear that this time we can accept the motive by our own free will since you will only tell us the info we want to know only if we ask for it. So I believe it's best that we don't use the motive period. It's because of the motives that Kazuo and Kiyoshi were driven to kill."

The speech debater clenched her fists as she struggled to keep up her mask of stern professionalism, desperately trying to hide the fear and paranoia she felt. Ever since Monokuma pointed out the fact a second murder took place despite her insistence that it wouldn't, she had grown increasingly paranoid. Every second of the day she constantly dreaded hearing the horrible body announcement that's played throughout the factory's intercoms. Before any of the murders started, she was confident they would all escape alive simply because she believed no one would want to repeat the mistakes of the killers in Hope's Peak Academy's killing game. But much to her dismay, she quickly learned how wrong she was when they found Jin's lifeless body.

With the knowledge of the motive being optional, she hoped to prevent another killing from taking place. In her mind, no one would feel the need to kill if they aren't given the incentive to do so in the first place.

Easily noticing the fear his girlfriend was trying to hide, Hideaki sighed before agreeing "I think Hiroko's right. Kazuo was influenced by being forbidden to use his talent and Kiyoshi was pushed toward murder by nearly being subjected to her worst fear. There has to be a hidden catch that Monokuma doesn't want us to know about until it's too late."

The black and white bear snickered to himself as he glanced at the different expressions on the teens' face; spotting faces of confusion, fear, and despair. He was convinced none of them could resist the urge to gain information on a person close to them. It didn't matter if they were scared to accept the motive out of fear of being driven to kill. In the end, he knew they would be overwhelmed with too much anxiety and despair.

"Well suit yourselves. But just know, I'll be here waiting." he said with smug grin, "It's only a matter of time."

Seeing that Monokuma had nothing left to say, the remaining participants left the room.  
Leon inhaled deeply as he ran his hand through his hair. He couldn't stop thinking about Monokuma's motive. Just like Hiroko, a part of him didn't want to use the motive, especially if it would only serve to try to drive him to kill someone. Yet the other part of him yearned for the knowledge he did not contain. No one knew what was happening with their friends and family since their capture, especially after a week.

He remained lost in his thoughts until he felt a tap on his shoulder. Curious to who it was, he turned his head to see Naoko walking next to him. Much to his surprise, the sprint runner immediately offered him a visit to his room. His brows furrowed together whilst he stared at the ginger-headed teen, unsure how to respond. He didn't know why the teenage boy wanted to suddenly hang out with him. Unable to come up with a reason to reject, the baseball player groaned before accepting the offer.

Naoko immediately smiled both out of happiness and relief that his friend was willing to pay his room a visit. Without any hesitation, he immediately dashed off to his room, nearly leaving behind a confused Leon. He managed to reach his room in only a minute, but had to wait a few seconds more for his friend to catch up.  
Leon took in deep breaths with his hand resting on the wall in an attempt to catch his breath, now understanding how Hiroko felt after chasing him the previous day.

Not bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice, he stated "Note for the future. When you ask people to come visit with you, don't leave them in the dust. You're lucky that I was able to partially keep up."

The ginger-headed teen smiled in embarrassment while rubbing the back of his neck and replying "Oh whoops. He he. Sorry. Sometimes I forget that I'm even the Ultimate Sprint Runner. So I tend to accidentally take off running, expecting everyone to run the same speed as me. Anyways, let's head inside. I was figuring you could teach me something."

With the last of his words, Naoko opened the door to his room and entered. Excitement filled his heart as he entered his room, eager to start learning from the baseball. Wanting to get started, he darted for the bed and knelt down on the floor, stretching out his arm underneath it. Within a few seconds, he quickly sat up to reveal none other than a baseball in his hand.

"This is the ball I accidentally almost threw at you that day. Anyways, I invited you here because I was hoping you could teach me how to throw properly in a game of catch. I mean, who better to learn from than the Ultimate Baseball Star himself?" the nineteen year-old stated with a grin.

But his grin slowly faded away, his excitement replaced with disappointment when he saw the red-head glaring at him.  
Leon clenched his teeth tightly in frustration, resisting the urge to shout many angry filled words at the teenager. It angered him that Naoko had knew exactly what his worst fear was, yet still had the nerve to ask to play catch with him. His anger only seemed to grow when he noticed the sprint runner stare at him cluelessly, as if he didn't understand why he was angry with him.

"Come on, Leon! Why won't you play catch with me? I'm bored." Naoko complained as he tossed around the baseball in his hands.

"I thought we made this clear exactly why that isn't a good idea, Naoko." Leon sighed out of annoyance, "You already know I can't handle a ball being thrown at me. Only reason I can even toss a ball back and forth between my teammates is because they built up on my trust in them over the course of many months. I've only known you for a week. So once again, no!"

The ginger-headed teen grumbled out of annoyance. His fingers dug into his hair as he turned his back toward his companion. He couldn't understand why the baseball player was so insistent on the idea of not playing catch with him. He had already known about Leon's fear, but it was a fear he couldn't understand.

Frustrated at his confusion, he blurted out instantly "Who's even scared of a ball being thrown at them?! You're the Ultimate Baseball Star for crying out loud! You don't see me get frightened about running. Jeez! You treat baseball like it's a deadly sport that can kill someone if they aren't trained. You're over exaggerating, a baseball cannot kill anyone under any circumstances! Honestly, what kind of person would even get killed by baseballs?"

Feeling the need to prove his point and release some of his pent up frustration, he threw the baseball at the wall, causing a loud smash to echo throughout the room. The teenager exhaled loudly through his nose in satisfaction, awaiting the baseball player's response. Unfortunately, the sprint runner didn't receive any answer. Instead, the sound of frantic breathing filled the air. He immediately turned around to see Leon trembling in fear whilst he hyperventilated. Guilt immediately washed over the teenage boy; he knew his friend was suffering from yet another panic attack from his PTSD. Out of panic, he immediately began apologizing, hoping it would help calm the panicking teen down. But much to his disappointment, his words were unable to reach Leon.

The red-head breathed frantically with his back pressed against the wall. Everywhere he looked, all he could see was the darkness of the batting cage. His heart pounded rapidly as he slid down onto the floor, trying to scamper away from the hallucination of the automatic pitcher. His back pressed hard against the wall, his face as pale as snow. The only thing he could think of was to constantly mutter under his breath, pleading for mercy on his life.  
The more Naoko watched the scene unfold before him, the more he grew worried. Out of desperation, he grabbed a hold of the athlete's shoulder in order to shake him back to reality.

The nineteen year-old quickly learned how poor his decision was when, suddenly, Leon let out a scream of fear whilst shoving the sprint runner against the wall and scampered over to the nearby corner. With a groan of pain, Naoko shook his head to clear it of the dizziness. Once he regained his bearings, he noticed the red-head now curled into a tight, trembling ball. The sight of his friend in such a state made his heart ache. He couldn't but feel guilty, blaming himself as the one responsible for his friend's mental state. Sadness filled his yellow eyes as he slid down to the floor, sitting across from his terrified companion.

"Really could use Hisoka's help right now. If only he was still alive." Naoko muttered to himself, resting his head atop of his arms upon doing so, "He could have helped not only your PTSD problem but my depression problem as well."

His fingers tightened around his arms whilst tears began to form in his eyes. Ever since he was child, he suffered from extreme depression all because he held back such feelings. Not caring if Leon was able to hear his words or not, he began pouring out his heart and soul to the teenager, confessing about the large amount depression he hid behind his smile.

"I heard the stories about The Tragedy, how it ended up happening because so many people were in despair. I-I didn't want to be like them." he explained with voice on the urge of sobbing. "That's why I thought if I forced back all of my negative feelings, I would never fall into despair. Sadly as you can see, I held these feelings back for so long that the depression now wears down my mental state. What makes it even sadder is that I was wrong, I held back all these feelings yet I'm still falling into despair in this killing game."

The tears forming in his eyes managed to streak down his face as a few broken sobs escaped his mouth.

"This isn't the first time I've been turned into a sobbing wreck. It always happened behind locked doors where I was sure no one could see me. Whenever I'm like this, my mom often had me recite this silly little rhyme. It's childish, but it always helped me calm down. If you like, you can recite it with me. Maybe it can help you." he finished with a small sob.

He glanced over at Leon, waiting for a response. Unfortunately all he received was the sound of hyperventilating. Naoko inhaled deeply before wiping away the tears from his eyes, deciding to start reciting the rhyme. He was unsure if the terrified teenager would truly recite it with him, but a part of him hoped so.

After a few minutes of silence, he took in one last deep breath and said "One turtles, two turtles rolling down the hill."

The sprint runner waited once again for a response before continuing "Three turtles, four turtles rolling down the hill."

His frown deepened when he saw Leon had still yet to respond to his words. He began to wonder if the baseball player would manage to return to the world of reality that easily.

"Five turtles, six turtles rolling down the hill." the teen spoke up, taking in deep breaths as he did so.

But the moment those words left his mouth, his eyes widened when he heard the exact same words come from a different voice. His head shot up to see Leon staring directly toward him. He noticed the red-head was still pale in fear, but his trembling and breathing managed to lessen slightly. Happy to see his calming tactic working, he sighed in relief.

Without any hesitation, he finished reciting the rhyme, smiling as Leon continued to repeat his words "Seven turtles, eight turtles rolling down the hill. Nine turtles, ten turtles rolling down the hill. Now with the fun done, the ten turtles climb back up the hill."

Sure enough the childish yet calming chant managed to do its work. The red-head took in slow yet steady breaths as he glanced around the room, no longer seeing the baseball cage from his execution but rather Naoko's room. His pale-blue eyes managed to settle on the teenager sitting before him, easily noticing the expression of guilt painted on his face.

With a small bit of hesitation, Naoko spoke up "Leon, if you're angry at me, I totally understand. I shouldn't have pushed you to the breaking point. I've been seeing how unintentionally hurtful my words come off to everyone. So I'm really sorry for those things I said."

Leon's fingers dug into his palms out of nervousness; his mind struggling to come up with response. A part of him was angry at the sprint runner, especially at the fact he triggered his PTSD. Yet despite being angry, he still felt sorry for him.

After a few moments of silence, he finally said "I think we both have our share of problems. Hisoka's notes did mention you suffered from depression, but I had no idea exactly how much you suffered from it. To think you've been holding all these feelings back. It's unhealthy, yet understandable. No one would blame you for your mindset, especially after hearing about The Tragedy. But sometimes, we need grief in our lives. By allowing ourselves to grieve, we can appreciate moments of happiness more. Don't allow yourself to suffer to the point you lose your life over it, otherwise you'll simply lose hope in everyone."

Naoko's eyes widened in shock from Leon's words. He had never thought of depression as a way to help appreciate happiness, making him wonder exactly what kind of sadness the baseball player experienced to learn such a lesson. He especially grew worried when the red-head told him not to lose his life over grief. His first thought was that his friend was simply thinking of Kazuo and Kiyoshi as examples of this warning. But despite mostly being convinced that was who Leon was referring to, a thought lingering in the back of his mind told him otherwise.

Deciding to ignore that thought for the moment, he simply smiled in gratefulness at Leon. He knew he would never truly get over his depression, just like Leon would never truly get over his PTSD. But together, he hoped that could grow and learn to overcome the obstacles and struggles that came with it. With that in mind, he couldn't help but be thankful to Leon.


	18. Chapter 18 - Love and Care

Chapter 18

Another day passed by, adding to the ever increasing total of days the eleven teenagers remained trapped in the factory. Leon yawned from drowsiness as he left his room, getting ready to head to the lunch room. But before he could take a single step, something collided into him. With a yelp of surprise, the nineteen year-old tumbled to the floor, resulting in his entire world to start spinning. Fortunately it only took him a few seconds to regain his bearings. Wondering what caused him to fall, he tilted his head up slightly. But once he did this, his pale-blue eyes widened in shock when he found himself staring into shocked green eyes.

"Mineko?!" the red-head exclaimed, shocked to see the music composer lying on top of him.

Mineko's face turned bright red with her body frozen in nervous. She didn't mean to accidentally collide into the baseball player and fall on top of him. She had been distracted with her thoughts on her way to the lunch room and failed to notice Leon stepping into the hallway. The light-brown-haired girl bit her lip nervously, desperately trying to come up with a decent explanation. Unfortunately, no matter how much she tried, her mind kept drawing blanks. Unable to think of anything to say, she remained silent and still with her face blushing brightly.

Leon tilted his head slightly at the girl on top of him. When he first met her, he found himself making striking similarities between her and Sayaka. But now he was starting to see where the two contrast. He easily remembered Sayaka being confident and excited, always happy to go places with him and even offering a few singing sessions. But with Mineko, he could see she was nervous and unsure. Most teens in her situation would immediately sit up and start apologizing, yet she remained frozen in nervous. It was a feature he couldn't help but find cute, reminding him why he liked pure-hearted girls in the first place.

Figuring the least he could is help, Leon gently grasped Mineko by her shoulders and lifted her up as he moved into a sitting position. A small smile of amusement formed on his face when he watched the girl glance sideways to avoid giving eye contact whilst muttering a thank you under her breath. The sight reminded him of the memory of laughing Sayaka playfully trying to push herself off his lap. Shifting back to his thoughts back to the present, he laughed when he noticed the teenage girl puffing up her cheeks in frustration.

"Hey it's alright, You shouldn't be embarrassed. It's not like you were trying to do something like that with all these cameras around." the baseball player joked in reply, jabbing one of his hands toward one of the security cameras on the wall.

"You laugh about it, but it's still embarrassing. I really don't want to be a problem for others, even if it's a temporary mishap." the music composer replied as she tugged on her sleeve.

Upon hearing this, Leon immediately fell silent. He had thought the nineteen year-old had gotten flustered simply because she was on top of him when in reality she was embarrassed because she thought she was being a burden. A small frown formed on his face when he remembered her stating her guilt for his capture the first day they woke up in the factory. Wanting to try to comfort his friend, he silently placed his hand under her chin and tilted her head where she was forced to make eye contact him. His face flushed red slightly when he noticed the confused and surprised expression painted on the teen's face.

Pushing aside his flustered feelings, he took in a deep breath and said "Mineko, you're not being a problem for me or anyone. I get you don't want to trouble people, but you shouldn't worry so much. Honestly you should learn to relax more, step back and take a deep breath. I don't blame you for being nervous right now because of the killing game; we're all pretty much nervous. But other than that, you shouldn't beat yourself up so much."

"I get that, but I can't help myself. It's just that I have gotten carried away in the past and unintentionally caused problems for others. One time, I got excited for being chosen to compose the music for a play at my school. I was so excited that I encouraged the band to practice constantly for that perfect melody. Turns out my recommendation ending up causing the band to fall behind with their studies. You get what I mean right?" Mineko replied with a sigh.

The red-head released his hand from the music composer's chin and ran it through his hair. He grunted as his brows were furrowed together in focus. He was slightly surprised his friend had brought up a good example of how she unintentionally made herself a burden for others.

He remained silent for a few more seconds before finally saying "I can get what you mean there. But despite that, I don't think you accidentally falling on me is really the same type of thing. It's really just an accident. Take it from me, I can tell the difference between an accident and a purposeful action. Like I said before, it's not like you purposeful did this so you could sit in my lap like you are right now."

The nineteen year-old's blush deepened from the detail pointed out to her before replying "I suppose you're right."

A small smile formed on Leon's face from the girl's words. He was glad that he was finally able to convince her not to feel guilty for the accident. But his happiness quickly shattered when he noticed Toshiro walking past them with the suggestion that they should continue their activity in the athlete's room. His teeth ground together in frustration and annoyance. Without any hesitation, he quickly pushed Mineko off his lap and chased after the director, leaving the teenage girl sitting in the floor confused.

Meanwhile, Hiroko had yet to come out of her room. She sat on her bed with her legs curled up against her chest, taking in deep breaths. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't get Monokuma's motive out of mind. Her teeth bit down hard on her lip as she fought back the urge to start crying out of fear, believing it do no one any good if she were to fall into despair. She was lost in her thoughts until she heard a familiar laughter she had grown to dread. Instantly, the purple-haired girl yelped as she spun toward the robotic bear leaning against the foot of her bed.

"How did you get in here?!" she demanded, her voice filled with rage.

Monokuma chuckled in amusement as the girl's reaction as he answered "You left the door unlocked sweetie. Unless you're eager to become the next victim, I suggest you keep your door locked up good and tight."

Hiroko narrowed her ruby red eyes at the demented bear, despising his appearance in her room. She didn't know why he had paid her a visit, especially when he had never done so in the past. The only time she knew Monokuma interacted with them was to announce a motive, taunt them, during investigations, and during class trials. Knowing it couldn't be for the latter two reasons nor the first, she was led to believe the bear appeared before her to simply taunt her. Wishing to get rid of him as quickly as possible, she asked him the reason behind his visits.

"Cut right to the point don't ya? Then again, your speech debating skills seem to have made you that way." Monokuma noted in a smug tone, "I came here to tell you that your little speech yesterday didn't work."

In that instant, the speech debater's face turned pale. Her heart started to race whilst her body trembled slightly.

Dreading the answer she would receive, she asked "What are you talking about?"

The black and white bear snickered slightly before answering "Why the motive of course. Despite you constantly urging everyone not to, one of your friends came to me. In other words, one of your pals used the motive I presented yesterday! Puhuhu!"

At that moment, Hiroko darted out of her room with the sound of Monokuma's laughter ringing in her ears. She wanted to believe the demented bear was simply lying to her just to scare her, but she didn't know why he would chose to only frighten her instead of all of them like normally. Every last aspect of her professionalism was gone, leaving only fear and paranoia. It didn't take long for her to finally reach the lunch room. Her ruby eyes glanced around the room, noticing everyone was already gathered.

Acting on instinct alone, she demanded "Who went to Monokuma?!"

All eyes were directed on the panicking teenage girl as everyone fell silent. They were all stunned by how uncharacteristically Hiroko was acting. None of them had ever seen her exhibit such paranoia before.

Everyone remained silent until a female voice spoke up "I'm sorry, Hiroko. I just had to know."

Without any hesitation, the group of teens turned to be greeted with the sight of Isamu guiltily staring at the floor.  
The robotics expert did her best to calm herself as she explained her reasoning behind accepting the motive. Before her kidnapping, she learned her older cousin who was pregnant with her fourth child was expecting to give birth soon.

"I had to know if she was still okay." she continued to explain, "Despite going through three pregnancies, my cousin's dorky husband always seems to panic when she goes into labor. My cousin usually has to rely on my parents and me in order to help her through the pregnancy whenever her husband is too busy being his dorky self. I needed to know if she had given birth yet and if she was still alright. I was worried that something might have happened to her while I've been trapped in here."

Her aqua colored eyes glanced up at the speech debater, noticing the girl glaring at her with anger and betrayal. She couldn't help but frown as she tightly clasped her hands together. She never wanted to go against her friend's advice, but she was desperate to learn about the state of her cousin. Fortunately, she managed to learn her cousin had successfully given birth with the help of her husband finally fighting the urge to panic. This fact was relieving for her to hear, but the urge to insure her cousin was truly okay lingered, especially with some encouragement from Monokuma.

Worried about if her friend was still angry with her decision, she opened her mouth to respond. But much to her disappointment, she watched as Hiroko stormed over to the table without bothering to grab a plate of food.  
Leon blinked in shock at the scene he witnessed, unsure what to think. While he didn't want to admit it to Hiroko, even he had been considering using the motive. But he believed no one wanted to act on their urges for Hiroko's sake, especially Isamu.

He was lost in his thoughts until he heard someone say "Looks like the despair is really starting to get to Hiroko. I don't blame her to be honest."

With the last of the words said, the red-head turned to see Hideaki sitting next to him.  
A bitter smile formed on the forensicist smile whilst he glanced over at his girlfriend, worried about how she had refused to eat any food.

"It's not my place to reveal why she has this mindset, you'll have to ask her about that yourself." he began to explain in a somber tone, "What I can tell you is my experience with her."

Fond memories filled the sandy-blonde-headed teen's mind as he recalled his first encounter with the speech debater. He had been selected as a representative for his junior high school in trial. While the trial was only pretend for the purpose of school students practicing law enforcement, he brought all his skills as a forensicist. Hideaki could clearly remember the small nervousness he felt, being surrounded by many students from different schools. At the time, a part of him was scared he would make a mistake and embarrass himself in front of everyone.

"It took all my willpower to keep myself from stuttering on stage." he stated with a small smile, "I thought I wouldn't survive until I heard her voice."

The memory of the purple-headed teen talking to the audience in her typical professional fashion, able to easily sway them with her very persuasive tone filled his mind. He couldn't help but found himself drawn to her, admiring how confident she was in her skills.

"I knew that I couldn't make myself look bad in front of her. She was giving it her all and I felt I needed to do the same." Hideaki confessed, "So I used all of my knowledge in the forensic field in order to provide arguments and counters. In the end, I managed to impress everyone, especially Hiroko. In fact, she was the one that brought up the possibility of me being recognized as an Ultimate. I was good with forensics, but I never thought I was that good. Imagine my shock when she revealed to me that she was the Ultimate Speech Debater. Learning that I ended up matching wits with one of the most talented teens in Japan encouraged me to keep growing in my talent. It wasn't long till I was recognized as the Ultimate Forensicist by my school."

Leon raised his brows in surprise at the tale told to him. He never imagined that Hiroko was the one responsible for helping Hideaki pursue his interest in forensics. He found it a bit surprising to learn how close the two became all because of a fateful encounter. The red-head could see the admiration and love that shined in his friend's eyes as he revisited the fond memory, a look he envied slightly.

"It's amazing how love and care can encourage someone to go to such great lengths. That's why Hiroko is so determined to keep everyone alive. She may seem stern and cold, but underneath that exterior is someone who loves and cares for her friends. All she could ever hope for is for all of us to reach our full potential. But we can't reach that potential, not if we end up dying here." Hideaki finally finished with a sigh.

The baseball player grunted while he rubbed the back of his neck, thinking deeply about his friend's words. It stunned him to learn how dedicated and caring the speech debater was. He never believed her to be a hateful person, but he never got a caring vibe from her. To him, she seemed like a girl that valued professionalism and was only doing what was necessary to survive. His pale-blue eyes glanced over at the nineteen year-old girl to see her grow tired of sitting at the table and silently leave the room.

He couldn't help but frown at the sight, unable to imagine the turmoil the teenage girl was going through within her mind. He would have never guessed the girl was almost constantly worrying, especially with how she made herself look professional and dignified at all times. Even during the trials, he thought she was only simply going through the motions. To be proven wrong was bewildering to him, much similar to the shock he experienced when Makoto successfully solved the mystery behind Sayaka's murder.

Suddenly, without warning, Leon found himself snapped out of his thoughts by Hideaki suggesting "If you're considering using the motive, I suggest talking to Hiroko about it. She may get disturbed, but it will be better to talk it out with her rather than do it behind her back. I have to admit, even I have been considering using the motive. I hope I haven't made my dad a nervous wreck with my disappearance."

The red-head found himself left speechless by his friend's words. The last thing he expected was for the nineteen year-old boy be okay with him wanting to use the motive. He turned toward Isamu to see her fiddling with another robot as Isas tried to comfort her. He didn't have to guess to know the robotics expert was devastated with her actions. Leon hated to admit it, but he knew Hideaki was right. If he didn't want Hiroko to be too angry with him, he needed to confront her about the subject. With his mind set, he quickly finished up his breakfast and thanked the forensicist for his advice.

With only a small amount of anxiety growing inside him, he left the lunch room and made his way to Hiroko's room. The moment he reached the door to the speech debater's room, he paused to take in a deep breath in thought.

 _"So how exactly how am I suppose to ask a girl like Hiroko for permission to do something she's clearly against? This is the same girl that can almost be considering Taka version number two."_ he thought to himself.

As he struggled to come up with a way to approach the speech debater, he failed to notice the door open to reveal the speech debater herself.

"Don't think I didn't see the shadows of your feet at my door, you got one minute to explain yourself." Hiroko stated in a stern tone with her eyes narrowed, prompting the baseball player to jolt in surprise.

"Geez! Warn me next time you do that! We don't need a body discovery all because you managed to scare me to death." Leon grumbled whilst straightening out his jacket, "Anyways I needed to talk to you, Hideaki suggested it would be for the best. I need to talk to you about Monokuma's motive and exactly why I'm considering using it. Before you immediately reject my request, at least let me explain myself. That's what speech debates are all about, right? Hearing the other side before providing your counter argument."

The purple-headed girl remained silent as she pursed her lips together in thought. After a few moments of inner debate, she stepped to the side, deciding to at least listen to her friend's argument for using the motive.  
Relieved to see his companion was willing to listen, Leon silently entered the room with the door closing behind him.


	19. Chapter 19 - Emotions Flow

Chapter 19

Silence seemed to linger in the air as Leon sat across from Hiroko. He only found it a little surprising that the teenage girl's room was decorated with a different assortment of shelves with books that contained hundreds of pages detailing the importance of speeches and debates. He rubbed the back of his neck, struggling to find the words to start up the conversation. He knew he need to explain his reason for wanting to use the motive like he promised, but he didn't know how to explain it in a way that wouldn't anger the purple-headed girl.

But before he could think of anything to say, he was startled by Hiroko stating "I really don't appreciate you sitting around gawking at your surroundings. If you were in the middle of a speech debate competition, you would have turned off the audience's interest with your silence. Just simply spit it out, you want to use the motive to learn of the state of the one close to you."

The red-head raised his brows in surprise at the girl's response. He wasn't expecting her to want to get straight to the point, especially after she strongly advised her companions against using the motive. He opened his mouth to ask about about the speech debator's conflicting actions, only to find him silenced by the purple-headed girl holding her hand out in front of his face.

"I know exactly what you're going to say. Why would I insist to hear your reasons when logically I wouldn't want to hear any excuse for something I'm strongly against. Well it's simple." Hiroko began as she allowed her hands to rest on her lap in a professional manner, "Isamu has already used the motive, Monokuma already managed to achieve what he wanted in the end. It would be heartless of me if I refused to allow yourself to speak up. Part of speech debates is giving the other side a chance to speak and try to understand their point of view."

Leon was dumbfounded by how fast the nineteen year-old girl seemed to bounce back from her depression. It made him wonder why the girl seemed to go such crazy lengths to preserve her professional appearance to the point she would quickly shove away her emotions. A part of him considered ignoring his curiosity and simply address his reason for wanting to use Monokuma's motive, yet the other wanted answers. With the later part winning over him, he sigh whilst resting his arms on top of his knees.

In a stern tone, the red-head stated "I'm not going to ask anything until you answer my questions. Why are you trying to hide your emotions? Every single time someone has died, Monokuma presents a motive, or we go through a trial, you've always kept that stone expression of yours. It wasn't till recently that stone mask of yours has started to crack. so why are you trying to hide your feelings?"

For a brief second, fear and worry flashed across Hiroko's face. Her fingers curled into the palm of her hands and her teeth tightened. She desperately struggled against the urge to have another emotional outburst. She refused to give what Monokuma wanted; she refused to allow herself to fall into despair. The paranoia was starting to settle in her mind, the fear of the demented bear waiting for her one fatal mistake. A mistake much similar to the ones that allowed the bear to claim the lives of Kazuo and Kiyoshi.

The purple-headed girl bit down on her lip heard, doing her best to hide away her quivering breaths that threatened to escape her mouth. For the first time in her life, she was scared and unsure what to do.  
Leon stared speechlessly at the scene unfolding before him. Seeing Hiroko slowly break down from despair was a foreign yet saddening sight for him to witness. When he thought about it, the girl's breaking state reminded him of the very same one he saw Sayaka in when she tried to kill him.

Growing more worried for the shaking teenage girl before him, he asked in a cautious tone "Hiroko, do you need to get this off your chest? The last thing we need is for you to do something you'll regret all because you slipped into fear and depression. Please, don't become like her, don't become another Sayaka."

The moment those words left his mouth, Hiroko paused with her eyes wide. The name Sayaka had struck a chord with her, especially since recognized it as the name of the first victim to fall to Hope's Peak Academy's killing game.

 _"He stated her name with such familiarity yet sadness."_ Hiroko thought to herself, "But _he shouldn't see Sayaka Maizono that way; he wasn't even born yet when she was murdered. I only know about her because I read about the killing game. She was murdered by the first one to be executed and that was Le-"_

Suddenly, everything clicked in her mind. Her ruby eyes widened as she stared at the red-headed teenager sitting across from her.

Filled with shock and disbelief, she instantly muttered under her breath "Kuwata."

Upon hearing this, Leon's breath hitched and his body tensed. He had hoped that the speech debater would only assume he brought up Sayaka as an example with the assumption he had only heard about her death. He never believed by saying her name, it would lead Hiroko to suspect who he truly was. The baseball player swallowed a lump that managed to form in throat while he stared at the nineteen year-old who now staring back with narrowed rather than widened eyes.  
Hiroko hummed as she closely studied every aspect of Leon's appearance. There was no doubt in her mind, he matched exactly the description of the deceased baseball player she read about.

Wanting to confirm her suspicions, yet not giving away his identity due to the cameras, she asked "You're him, aren't you? You were the one to commit the act and get punished for it."

Desperate to try to recover from his slip up, the red-head nervously ran his hand through his hair as he replied "I don't kn-"

But before the nineteen year-old could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Hiroko saying "Don't try lying to me, Leon. I've done my studies and I learned your tell-tales when it comes to your nervousness. Your mouth twitches into an awkward smile, you run your hand through your hair, and even sometimes you clench your teeth."

The baseball player immediately removed his hand from his hair, suddenly feeling extremely self conscious from the girl's worlds. It was then he knew there was no possible way he could hide the truth. Letting out a shaky and slightly annoyed sigh, he confirmed the speech debater's suspicions and explained how it was even possible for him to be alive and the exact same age he died.  
Hiroko found herself struggling to grasp the information she was receiving, prompting her to furrow her brows together in puzzlement.

The concept of rebirth was no stranger to her; she had heard tales passed down in Japan throughout the generations. What she couldn't believe was a ghost could back the rules and allow an individual to reborn with their memories of their previous life in tact. At first she considered brushing the idea aside and believing Leon was trying to hide the truth. Yet the teenage girl knew this wasn't possible. If she could be forced to play a killing game hosted by a small robotic bear, she could believe a teenage boy that died over twenty years ago got a second chance at life.

Hoping she had a good grasp of the information given to her, Hiroko began "So if I have this correct. After your 'incident' you managed to get a second chance from a ghost of all things. Because your second chance wasn't a proper one, your memories of the incident and prior to before that remained intact. This does explain why you seemed so experienced with this type of situation. But if you do remember, why weren't you able to stop the deaths? Surely you would have been able to notice someone considering the option of murder considering your own history."

Leon glanced guiltily at the floor with no response. He didn't ever wanted anyone to die in the killing game, especially after dying in one himself. But unfortunately, some events were out of his control. There was no way he could predict Kazuo sneaking out at night or Hisoka carrying out secret overnight observations.  
Noticing how unintentionally cruel her question was, the purple-headed girl muttered out an apology.

"I understand you can't control the actions of others and you have done your best to prevent any killings like all of us have." she sighed, "It's just, I'm frustrated at how powerless I feel. It seems no matter what we tried, someone dies. All of my predictions were all disproved and that demented bear torments me for it. I never believed I could fall into despair. I was confident I could be like Future Foundation and help build a better world as I bravely fight against the despair. It's the reason I pursued my talent in speech debates. The story of Makoto Naegi and the other survivors of the killing game inspired me. I... wanted to inspire such hope in generations to come. But now, I'm not very sure of myself anymore."

A broken sob managed to escape Hiroko's mouth as her body tensed. The brave front she tried desperately to retain in the killing game finally broke, leaving only despair. A despair that made her want to cry and scream in agony. The pain she felt was almost like someone taking a knife and stabbing it into her stomach. She didn't know what to think anymore, all she knew was she wanted to escape the despair. Her mind continued to slip into despair until she felt two hands tightly grip her by her shoulders. She blinked her ruby red eyes to see Leon sternly glaring at her both out of anger and worry.

"Don't you dare start letting you think that way. I made the mistake of not helping Sayaka when she needed help, I'm not going to let the same thing happen to you. Hiroko, we are going to do everything we can to escape this thing alive. You also need to remember that you still have friends that care for you. Hideaki would be devastated if something happened to you all because you allowed yourself to be consumed with despair." the baseball player stated in a stern tone, "I know it's hard, but you have to fight against that feeling. You need to fight it for everyone's sake."

The speech debater didn't reply. She remained silent for a few moments until, without warning, she threw herself toward the nineteen year-old and embraced him in a hug. Depressed yet relieved sobs escaped her mouth as she finally released the emotions she held back.

Keeping a firm grip on the red-head's body, she turned her head toward Leon's ear and whispered quietly "Thank you, Leon Kuwata."

Leon's pale-blue eyes widened with his heart feeling like it had stopped. For the first time since his death, someone had addressed him by his original name. A name he nearly forgotten he had. He remained silent as Hiroko finally pulled out of the hug, noticing the genuine smile that was now painted on her face.

Taking in a deep breath, Hiroko said with her smile never leaving her face "You don't need to explain your reasons for wanting to use the motive, Leon. I'm not going to fear Monokuma anymore. No matter what, I'll do my part to help all of us escape this place."

Seeing the teenage girl smiling at him while filled with hope and happiness, the teenage boy couldn't help but smile back.

The next day, Leon took in deep breaths as he made his way to the Business Room. He had his mind set; he intended to use the motive in order to find out what had happened to his mother since his kidnapping. With every step he made, a small amount of anxiety and dread filled him the closer he got to his destination. It only took a few minutes for the red-head to finally reach the doors leading into the Business Room. But before he could even lay his hand on the door handle, much to his surprise, the door swung open to reveal a familiar sprint runner.

"Naoko?!" Leon exclaimed, shocked by his companion's sudden appearance.

But the ginger-headed teen did not reply; instead his body shook as he breathed heavily. His yellow eyes were wide and his face was nearly as white as a sheet. Without a word, he quickly darted down the hallway, his panicked breaths slowly dying down in the distance.  
The baseball player was unsure what to make of the scene he had witnessed. He never seen Naoko in such a terrified state, not even when Monokuma had him locked up in the safe.

Unfortunately, his thoughts of worry were drawn away from the sprint runner when he heard Monokuma yell at him to enter the room. Knowing he couldn't delay the inevitable, he took in one last deep breath to gather his nerves before stepping inside the Business Room. Once inside, he was greeted with the typical sight of Monokuma sitting behind the desk in his large back chair.

The despair filled bear chuckled as he commented "Ah, Leon Saisei, I was hoping you would show up. Wouldn't be fair if my 'favorite' student didn't use my marvelous motive. I would be so bored and disappointed if you ignored me."

Growing tired of the bear's comments, Leon snarled in reply "Shut the hell up and just tell me how my mom is doing!"

Monokuma's eyes seemed to glint with mischievousness, amused by the sight of the angry teenager.

"Getting straight to the point? Figured it would be your mom you would ask about. She's really the only one that can qualify as your close one because you have no close buddies or pals outside of this killing game! Can't believe it's now you choose to make friends, talk about bad timing! Puhuhu!" the bear taunted in delight.

The red-head clenched his fists, doing his best from snapping at the robotic bear. The sooner he found out about his mother and left the room, the better. He didn't utter a word as the demented bear revealed the fate of his mother since his imprisonment. He found out that she had grown increasingly worried over the week concerning his disappearance. Learning that she had been calling everyone she knew, even turned toward the police in order to find her missing son. A pang of sadness shot through the teen's heart, resulting in a frown forming on his face.

He didn't even have to imagine to know the sadness and heartbreak his mother was suffering. He remembered how devastated his mother was after his father left them for unknown reasons when he was five, forcing his mother to raise him alone. Without his father, the baseball player himself was the only person his mother deeply cared for that remained. But with his disappearance, his mother had no one to comfort her or keep her calm. The two close people in her life was gone, leaving her alone.

The teenage boy found himself snapped out of his thoughts by Monokuma slyly commenting "Based on the look of your face, seems like you know exactly how much despair your precious mommy is filled with. Maybe you should consider getting out of here before she does something drastic hmm?"

In that instant, the sadness painted on Leon's face was immediately replaced with anger. Now he understood why Naoko dashed out of the room with such a terrified expression; he knew it had because Monokuma took advantage of the person close to him to push him into enough despair to become desperate to escape. The same kind of desperation that drove Sayaka into attempting to murder him all those years ago.

Not bothering to hold back his anger, the red-head snarled "I'm not going to fall for that crap. I made that mistake once, never again. So don't even bother trying."

Without another word, Leon stormed out of the room.  
Once he was gone, the sound of chuckling emitted from Monokuma. The chuckling continued as the mastermind leaned back from the control panel before them.

"Just as I thought, he is hiding something about his past. Whatever it is, it seems that Hiroko Chikako had already found it out. If only she had forgotten about the security camera in her room, I would have been able to hear the topic she discussed with her red-headed friend." the mastermind chuckled as they rested their head on their hand, "To think I was worried I would grow bored waiting for these kids to kill each other. Leon Saisei, you have been nothing but an endless source of entertainment and intrigue for me. That is why I need to uncover the secret you seem to keep under lock and key."

With that said, the Mastermind chuckled to themselves, prompting Monokuma to do the same. No matter what, they intended to learn every detail about the Ultimate Baseball Star. With any luck, they believed they could use that secret information to their advantage to drive the remaining students into despair. So with an eager smile painted on their face, they remained watching the cameras the rest of the day, watching the despair filled teens struggle with the hopeless thought that constantly plagued them.

The following morning, Leon took in a deep breath as he headed toward the lunchroom. Thoughts of anger and worry continued to linger in his mind about the events that unfolded the previous day. Anger toward Monokuma for trying to push him into considering murder, and worry from recalling Naoko's terrified face. He didn't know exactly what the demented bear told the sprint runner, but he imagined it couldn't have been good. Unfortunately his thoughts were interrupted when suddenly he heard the intercom come on with a message he dreaded.

"A body has been discovered, everyone please gather in the shower rooms!" Monokuma's voice echoed throughout the factory, playing twice in a row.

Leon's face turned pale as he dashed for the stairs, knowing it was terrible sign if the body announcement played not once, but twice. It didn't take him long to finally reach the entrance of the shower rooms. There he was greeted with the sight of Mineko, Seiichi, Naoko, Isas, and Shizko gathered around the entrance with pure horror and shock painted on their faces.

Despite knowing what his answer would be, Leon asked in a slightly shaky tone "Are the bodies in the shower rooms?"

Isas sighed with the shake of his head, his gray eyes glancing toward the men's side of the shower rooms.  
Gathering up his shaking nerves, the baseball player inhaled deeply before slowly entering the shower rooms. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until he approached the very first stall. At that moment, his heart nearly stopped as his breath hitched. Hanging lifelessly from the shower head by a rope with his eyes frozen in a wide position was none other Hideaki Masato, and lying in a slumped position against the wall with a knife in her chest was the lifeless body of Hiroko Chikako.

 **Killing Game Students - 9 Remain**


	20. Chapter 20 - Secrets of the Dead

Chapter 20

Leon's body trembled in horror and disbelief; his knees shaking a bit. To see not one, but two of his friends murdered was more disturbing to him than normally. He was especially disturbed at the state Hiroko's body was in. Seeing her body lay slumped against the wall with a knife stabbed into her was near identical to the state he left Sayaka's body in when he murdered her. His fists clenched as his words begging her to not to die like the singing idol did now seemed to mock him. His heart immediately tightened with both fear and guilt when Hiroko's lifeless body seemed to transform into Sayaka's for a few brief moments. With the anger, sadness, and guilt building up inside of him both from his friends' deaths and the memories of his past that continue to haunt him, he began to hyperventilate as he slid to the floor.

Within a few seconds; Hideyo, Toshiro, and Isamu rushed into the shower rooms with the others trailing behind him. Immediately noticing that he was suffering from his PTSD, Isamu and Mineko rushed over to Leon and began doing their best to calm the baseball player back down.  
Hideyo snarled in rage at the scene of her two dead friends before her. Out of rage, she punched the wall next to her, resulting in Naoko to jump back in fright. She had no idea who the culprit could possibly be, but she intended to do everything in her power to find out.

Suddenly, without warning, a familiar laugh filled the air and taunted "So the brains of the group got knocked off. With all their brainpower, you would think they would have seen their murders coming from a mile away."

Everyone immediately turned to be greeted with the sight of Monokuma laughing in delight with his mouth wide open.

"As usual, I came to give you the Monokuma Files. Though I have to admit, how delightfully tragic that it's the lovebirds that got murdered together. At least I don't have to hear their sappy 'Oh I'll live on for you my dear sweet beloved!' Oh please, can couples get anymore cheesier?" he laughed with his paws firmly pressed onto his stomach.

"Uh... that doesn't sound like Hiroko nor Hideaki" Naoko commented whilst scratching his head.

Upon hearing this, the robotic bear began to grumble in anger, his red eye flashing brightly whilst doing so.

"You the fun police or something? Suck all the fun out for me why don't ya? Completely killed the mood. Grrrr. Just start investigating you chumps! Fun killers, that's what the whole lot of you are!" the demented bear complained before storming out of the shower rooms.

Leon blinked his eyes as he watched Monokuma leave the room, now in a more calm state thanks to Mineko's and Isamu's efforts. He glanced over at Hiroko's lifeless body, prompting his face to immediately grimace. He couldn't understand the reason for why the two teenagers were the ones murdered, especially when their murders were in the same place. Yet he knew he couldn't even begin to ponder the answer to that mystery until he knew how the two were murdered. With an exhausted sigh, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his monopad, pulling up the Monokuma Files for both bodies.

"The two victims in this case is Hideaki Masato and Hiroko Chikako." he began to read out loud, "Hideaki's body was found in the shower rooms. His death was via strangulation, indicated by the rope burns and ligature marks around his neck. No other wounds were found on his body. Hiroko's body was also found in the shower rooms. Her body has suffered from multiple injuries. Blood and swelling was found around her nose, indicating it had been broken. The wrists were discovered to be purple and swollen, indicating they had been broken as well. Ligature marks were found around her neck. Lastly, a survival knife was found stabbed into the victim's chest."

"Wait, neither Hiroko's nor Hideaki's time of death was listed. This means we have no idea when they were murdered and which one of them had been murdered first." Isas immediately pointed out, "My guess the order of deaths is a crucial clue to the culprits identity. It sucks because Hideaki was better at this stuff, but we should examine the bodies."

"That Monokuma, always omitting and adding crap to the files to screw everyone over. I really despise that bear." Seiichi grumbled as he made his way over to the forenscist's body.

Deciding to contribute the investigation as well, Leon took in a deep breath before crawling over to Hiroko's body. A frowned formed on his face as he stared at the lifeless teenage girl. A pang of sadness shot through his heart at the fact the speech debater had been the first to learn of his true identity, only to unintentionally take the secret to her grave. Knowing that his time was limited, he shook his head in attempt to gather himself and began examining the body. Just like the Monokuma File detailed, he easily noticed the multiple injuries on the girl.

None of the injuries seemed to stand out to him, except for the knife stabbed into the girl's chest. He didn't notice at first due to suffering from his panic attack, but looking closely, he saw there was barely any blood around the stab wound. The baseball player narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Due to his experience with Sayaka, he knew a large amount should had been covering Hiroko's chest due to excessive bleeding. Yet with the speech debater, the only signs of blood he could see were around the knife and the teenager's nose.

 _"Now that I think about it, the time of death wasn't the only thing omitted from the file. It didn't list Hiroko's cause of death, it only listed her injuries. That means her cause of death is an important clue to the killer's identity. I know one thing for sure, Hiroko wasn't murdered by getting stabbed."_ he thought to himself.

Hoping to find more clues, the red-head began examining the surrounding area around the body. The tiled floor was clean for the most part except for small droplets of blood leading out of the shower rooms. There was no doubt in his mind the blood was from Hiroko's broken nose. Curious as to why the droplets lead outside of the murder scene, he silently got to his feet and followed the blood trail. Leon only needed to follow it a small distance to find himself near the stairway leading downstairs and a trashcan.

His pale-blue eyes carefully studied the stairway, not seeing a single speck on blood on them. He didn't think the killer cleaned the blood up, otherwise the other spots leading into the shower rooms would have been cleaned up as well. He was about to turn back until something caught his eye. Peeking out from underneath the trashcan. Without any hesitation, he knelt to the ground and pulled out the paper. The moment he did this, his teeth clenched in both in anger and frustration. In his hands was none other a note requesting for Hiroko to meet in the shower rooms to discuss a plan of escape.

"Crap! She fell for the same freaking trick that I fell for! Hiroko, why you idiot?! Why couldn't you see this was going to lead to your death?!" he snarled with his hand clenching the paper, causing it to crumple slightly.

The nineteen year-old boiled with both rage and confusion, wondering what prompted the speech debater to answer the obvious death note.

His feelings swirled inside him like a storm until he heard a male voice say "Leon, you doing okay there?"

Acting on instinct alone, Leon quickly spun around to see Isas staring at him with his arms folded across his chest with a concerned frown.

"We didn't find any clues to hint at who managed to die first, so I headed out here to see if I could find anything. Then I saw you kneeling next to the trash can snarling something under your breath." the race car driver explained in a stern tone, "I know you suffered from a panic attack from seeing the murder scene. Are you sure you're doing alright?"

Noticing his friend's concern, the baseball player immediately stood up, stuffing the note into his pocket while doing so.

"Yeah, I'll survive. I guess since you're here, you can help search the packages on the shelf." he responded.

Much to his pleasing, his friend happily agreed to the task. Wasting not time, he made his way over the storage shelf and started looking for the one box that stood out. He knew the rope used to hang Hideaki had to have came from the packages due to the fact ropes couldn't be found anywhere else in the factory. If his guess was correct, the culprit would have a hard time making the box appear untouched. He kept searching until he heard Isas call out for him. Leon quickly dashed in the direction of his companion's voice. Within seconds, he managed to find the black-haired teenager examining a box with a large tear on the floor.

"Found this shoved away on the first shelf near the back. Seems the culprit was a little careless when removing the box." Isas stated, "My guess is they put the box back up and hoped no one would notice. Would have worked if we weren't in an abandoned factory of all things. All the boxes are in nearly untouched and pristine condition, none of them containing any damage from handling."

"You'd think they would remember that small detail. Add up with the bloodstains the killer apparently forgot to clean up, it's sounding like the killer is pretty clueless, or they were rushing things." Leon muttered in reply.

Satisfied with the evidence he found proving that the culprit did indeed get the rope used to hang Hideaki from one of the packages, he thanked his friend for the help before heading back to the shower rooms. Once returned, he saw nearly all of his companions examining the dead bodies and frantically searching the shower rooms for clues to the murders. The only one he saw wasn't searching was Naoko.  
The sprint runner was sitting in the floor with a notepad in his lap. His brows were furrowed and he tapped a pencil against his chin in thought.

Curious to what the ginger-headed teen was writing in the notepad, Leon asked "What's with the notepad, Naoko?"

Upon hearing his name, Naoko immediately jolted up his head in response.

"Oh, Leon, it's just you." he sighed in relief, "Thought you were Hideyo for a second. She would kill me if she found out I took this notepad from Hiroko's body. Creepy and wrong, yes, but I had to at least write down some thoughts puzzling me."

Without any hesitation, he revealed his confession concerning the injuries on Hiroko's body and the lack of them on Hideaki's body. He didn't see any reason why the culprit would leave so many injuries on the teenager's body when all they needed to do was kill her. With this crucial detail, this left him convinced that Hiroko at least managed to fight the culprit before she was murdered. It easily explained why the speech debater's nose and wrists were broken, implying the struggle she was in was intense. Then there was Hideaki's body.

The sprint runner found it puzzling how the culprit successfully hung Hideaki's body without leaving any kind of injuries. He knew logically Hideaki would have at least struggled as the killer was dragging him backwards with the rope. Even if not caused by the culprit themselves, injuries of a struggle would have appeared from the teenage boy jerking his body and swinging his limbs in a desperate attempt to free himself from the rope. The only possibility he could think that would match the murder scene and not leave any kind of injuries was if Hideaki hung himself.

"If he found Hiroko's body first, it would make sense for him to kill himself out of grief. At least I think it does." Naoko finished with a sigh, "Though still kind of weird those rope burns don't completely line up with noose around his neck. I don't know. If it helps, I can give you the notes I written. Maybe you can figure it out better than me."

Figuring he might as well take any evidence he can get, Leon accepted the offer, prompting the ginger-headed teen to rip the page out of the notepad out and hand it to him. Without another, word, the baseball player walked back over to the dead bodies to examine the last thing he needed to check and that was Hideaki's body. His stomach felt like it was doing flips as he approached the lifeless body of the forensics. Just like with Kazuo, he felt unsettled from having to stare at the teen lifeless eyes that were frozen open. He couldn't help but feel sadness for the teenager, especially after recalling the memory of him telling his story.

"Both of you talked about how much you wanted to be a good influence for others, help inspire others like you both had been inspired. You guys shouldn't have died like this. Whoever's behind this killing game will pay for making us go through this hell." he muttered out of guilt, wishing the two teens were still alive.

Taking in a deep breath to gather up his nerves, Leon glanced at the rope tied around the teenager's neck. Just like Naoko claimed, the rope burns on Hideaki's neck didn't quite line up. There was the possibility that the teenager's body jerked around a bit once he started suffocating from the drop, but that left the red-head with the question how Hideaki could possibly hang himself. He knew there was no stools to be found in the third floor, only on the first floor. Yet he didn't find it believable that the nineteen year-old could head to the first floor, grab a stool or chair, and make his way to the shower rooms without raising any suspicion.

In his mind, doing that task would cause too much noise and result in the teen getting caught in the act. Wondering if the Monokuma File possibly omitted any kind of injuries that could indicate Hideaki was attacked, the nineteen year-old started searching the rest of the body. Unfortunately, much to his disappointment, he couldn't find any other injuries aside from the rope burns on the neck. He was about to give up until he noticed a piece of paper peeking out from Hideaki's lab coat. Believing it to be a clue, Leon reached into the pocket and pulled out the paper.

But after his did this, his eyes widened in both shock and disbelief. The paper in Hideaki's pocket was a note with the very same message that was written on the one found underneath the trash can.

 _"Hideaki too?! That has to mean they were both called to the shower rooms, but why? In order to win the killing game, you would only need to kill one person and get away with it. There's no reason to murder two people. So why and why was it Hiroko and Hideaki of all people? Was there a reason the culprit felt they needed to kill both of them?"_ he thought to himself.

Before he could think about his question any longer, Leon found his thoughts shattered by Seiichi asking "So did anyone get any clear of idea of who died first? I really wish that Hisoka was still around, he was good with that kind of thing."

Everyone in the shower rooms sighed and groaned in disappointment. They were running out of time to investigate and none of them had any idea if Hideaki or Hiroko was murdered first. There was even the mystery of whether or not the murders were committed by one person or two people. Without any kind of evidence to provide any answers, it remained a mystery to the group of teens.

"This is worrying, especially how this will effect the upcoming trial. In the previous trials, we had Hideaki's forensic expertise to search the scene for any hidden clues. Then there Hiroko who was able to strike up discussions with her own theories and counterarguments. We lost the two that usually help direct all the evidence toward the culprit for the case." Shizko noted with a frown.

"Gah! that's right! Those two were huge help during trials! What are we suppose to do with them?" Isamu exclaimed out of worry.

Worry filled nearly all of the teens until they heard the sound of laughing. At first they thought it was Monokuma, until they realized it wasn't the same laughter. With a small bit hesitation everyone turned to see the one laughing was noneother than Toshiro.  
The brown-headed teens laughed and snickered; his mouth turned upward into a cunning yet sly grin. His brown eyes seemed to shine with mischievousness yet dark intent, unnerving most of his companions.

"Is that what everyone's worried about? I think we'll do just fine without those two." Toshiro insisted with his fingers grasping his chin, "It just means that I now must get more involved in order to get what I want."

Leon's body tense with slight unease as he asked in a cautious yet threatening tone "Toshiro, what are you talking about?"

The aspiring director's laughter grew in volume, almost on the verge of transforming into maniacally laughter.

"Oh, Leon, you would think you would have already realized my genius by now." he replied in a dark tone, "We don't need those two because I have decided to contribute more. I refuse to be denied of the one thing I desire all because someone is very desperate to cover their tracks in order to successfully win this killing game. No one denies me of what I want. I see a goal, I reach that goal at all costs. That is why, I fully intend to expose the culprit behind these murders in the trial!"


	21. Chapter 21 - The Third Trial

Chapter 21

The remaining participants felt unnerved by Toshiro's claims to uncover the culprit in the trial. While they were aiming for the same goal, it was obvious that the aspiring director didn't just want to uncover the culprit in order to survive, he wanted to see the executions he seemed to adore.  
Hideyo snarled at the sight of the teen's smug grin; a grin she desperately wanted to rip off his face. She opened her mouth to give the arrogant teen a piece of her mind, but found her silenced by Isas approaching Toshiro.

Taking in a deep breath to keep himself calm, Isas stated "Toshiro, is there even a part of you tormented by the idea you will be sentencing one of your friends to death? I had hoped perhaps your twisted view would change, but it seems it's only gotten worse. Now you're angry not because two of our friends was killed by someone in this room, you're angry because you want to see some die for your amusement. At times I even wonder how you earned such a title as the 'Ultimate Director' if you think so little of people."

The moment those last words left the racer's mouth, the director's eyes widened. For a brief moment, the mixed expression of shock and even sadness flashed across his face. But it didn't stay long, only to be quickly replaced by the teen's typical smug smirk once more.

"Clearly you don't understand what moviegoers want." he chuckled whilst pushing a few stray bangs out of his eyes, "I on the other hand do, that's how I managed to earn my title. You need to learn one thing, Isas, there's no sense in trying to make our views align. We come from two different worlds. You may survive in the world of racing by doing what's passionate for you. But me, I don't get that luxury."

Before anyone could say anything else, the intercom turned with Monokuma announcing the end of the investigation period.  
Leon remained silent as his teeth clenched together in nervousness. Without Hiroko's and Hideaki's aid in the trial due to the both of them being victims, he knew it would be a little tougher to pinpoint the culprit behind the murders. Hoping that he had gained enough evidence surrounding the murders, the nineteen year-old didn't utter a word as he and his companions made their way to the elevator.

Once on the elevator, Leon glanced around the remaining survivors around him. It pained him that there were now only nine people remaining from the original fifteen and after the trial there would only be eight at most, nearly half the number of people they started with. He knew if the killings kept up, there wouldn't be many of them left and that thought only gave him despair. The red-head teen found himself snapped out of his thoughts when the elevator came to stop. Feeling like it was almost routine now, Leon gathered his nerves in preparation as the elevator doors slowly opened.

Just like last time, Monokuma had redesigned the courtroom. Instead of an Aztec ruin, the courtroom was now designed to look like a Shogun Temple. The baseball player resisted the urge to groan in annoyance at Toshiro's praise of the decorations as he directed his attention toward the stands. As per tradition, he noticed the stands with the colorless picture of those who had died. Hideaki's picture a the typical red X painted over his face, but Kiyoshi's and Hiroko's were different. He saw Kiyoshi's picture had two red X's painted over her eyes and stars drawn around her head, knowing Monokuma made it that way to resemble a cartoon character when they die.

But Hiroko's change truly confused the athlete; instead of one red X he saw that there was five red X's drawn over Hiroko's portrait in the formation of a single X. He didn't know why, but he sensed the robotic bear was truly annoyed by the speech debater from examining the portrait. He knew there was no sense of cruel irony like there was with Kiyoshi's picture, leaving him to wonder what Hiroko had done to gain so much hatred from the demented bear.

His thoughts were interrupted by Monokuma proclaiming from his throne "This is so exciting! I can't wait to see how you guys handle this trial without the brains of your group! Goggle head was always snooping around with all his sciency gear and stuff, then you got the speech debater always acting all high and mighty with her deductions. Trials were always interesting, but now it'll be even better now that you lost most of the backbone! Puhuhu!"

"You always got to be a big bully to everyone. Makes me angry you torment the friends I see as younger siblings. I'll be happy once this trial is over." Seiichi commented in anger.

"Younger siblings, but aren't we all pretty much the same age as you?" Naoko asked out of confusion.

Ignoring the sprint runner's comment, the group of teens took their places at their respective stands.

Seeing that everyone was now ready to begin the trial, Toshiro let out a spine tingling chuckle. His eyes glinted with determination and excitement, curious to how the trial would end up playing out for him.

"So before we discuss the events around the trial, I would like to ask everyone, does any of you recall the stories told by our parents concerning the very first murder in Hope's Peak Academy's killing game?" he asked.

Upon hearing those words, Leon inhaled sharply as his heart raced in panic. He didn't know why the brown-headed teen was bringing up that event, especially when it had nothing to do Hideaki's and Hiroko's death.

"How could we not? It's a traumatizing memory for the people that witnessed it." Shizko replied in a somber tone, doing her best from glancing at Kiyoshi's death portrait, "A girl, who was apparently a very popular singing idol before then, was murdered by one of the students participating in the killing game. I don't really know who the murderer was since my parents said his execution was too horrifying, but I do know he was an athlete of some kind. Anyways, apparently that girl was planning to kill him, but he managed to fight her off. In the end, he murdered her out of fear, leaving her body in the shower room."

"That aligns with what I heard about the incident too. But Toshiro, what does bringing up a tragedy that happened over twenty years ago have to do with our current situation?" Isas asked.

A small smirk formed on Toshiro's face with a dangerous glint in his eyes. In his typical smug tone, with a hint of slyness, he stated that he believed that Hideaki's and Hiroko's murders was simply history repeating itself. He folded his arms over his chest victoriously, explaining that he believed that Hiroko had summoned her boyfriend to the shower rooms with the full intent of murdering him with the survival knife that had been given to all of them at the beginning of the killing game. He imagined she hid in the shower stall in wait and attacked the forensicist when he arrived at the meeting place.

The director figured a scuffle had possibly broke out, resulting in Hiroko getting her injuries and Hideaki managing to get a hold of the survival knife. In his mind, Hideaki fatally stabbed Hiroko with the knife and proceeded to hang himself either out of guilt or fear of being executed.

"It's the most logical reason. Why else would they both happen to be dead in the same room? It just lines up too nicely with that past incident, which may I add would make a great storyline for a tragic love story." Toshiro finished in a confident tone.

Leon snarled as his fingers clenched the side of his stand. Out of all the comments he heard from the snobbish teen, his comment making light of the mistake that cost him his life angered him the most. Using his anger to fuel him, he quickly thought back to the scene of the crime, recalling all of the facts. He searched his mind until he recalled the one thing that could debunk the brown-headed teen's entire theory. He couldn't help but smirk to himself, looking forward to tearing apart a statement that had no evidence to back itself in the first place.

Without any hesitation and doing his best to hide the anger in his voice, the red-head stated "You were so arrogant you thought a simple coincidence would prove everything. Well you failed to realize one thing, Hiroko wasn't killed by a fatal stab."

Making sure he didn't give any hint of his knowledge due to experience, he explained the near lack of blood found on the teenage girl's body, indicating she had been stabbed after she was dead. His smirk grew even larger the moment he saw the stunned and bewildered look flash across Toshiro's face. Despite the fact a death would happen regardless of outcome of the trial, for a brief moment, the nineteen year-old felt good with his accomplishment. But much to his disappointment, his happiness disappeared when he heard Seiichi speak up.

"It may be true that she wasn't killed by stabbing," the wrestler began to say, "but that doesn't mean we know how she died either. The Monokuma File never did state how she died. Not to mention, we still don't know which of the two was murdered first. My guess Monokuma will want us to vote for who committed the first murder."

"That's right!" the bear confirmed happily, "The blackened for this case is the will be the one to murder the first victim unless that culprit was murdered by another culprit, much like that one case with the goth girl."

"Goth girl?" Mineko muttered in confusion.

Directing his thoughts away from his companions' comments, Leon closed his eyes in thought. There was no evidence to prove exactly who died first, but he hoped that maybe he could figure it out the process of elimination. But in order to do that, he knew he needed to determine exactly how Hiroko died. His mind considered all the possibilities as he recalled the injuries the Monokuma File listed. The baseball player quickly brushed aside the broken nose and wrists, knowing it was impossible for them to be fatal injuries. With those out of the way, that left him with only one possibility and that was the ligature marks found around the neck.

At that moment, his eyes widened in realization. He understood the only reason the teenage girl would have ligature marks around her neck was if someone had strangled her. With no other injuries to indicate any other cause of death, he immediately pointed this out to his companions.

"Wait, so both of them died from strangulation?! Holy crap!" Naoko exclaimed in shock.

"Ugh, makes me angry some scum deciding to break her wrists and nose first before strangling her to death. Why do I get the feeling they did that for their sick view for fun. We might be dealing with a person like Genocide Jack." Hideyo commented in anger.

But suddenly, everyone fell silent at the sound of laughter they quickly grown to hate. They turned to see Toshiro snickering to himself with his hand grasping his chin in thought.  
The young director couldn't help but find it amusing. He noticed how his earlier suggestion had angered Leon for reasons he did not know. At first, he thought the baseball player had brought up a valid point by revealing that the survival knife wasn't the murder weapon. But now, he found it silly he was even worried for his deduction in the first place.

Feeling confident in himself, the brown-headed teen stated the cause of death did not contradict his theory but rather reinforced it. He continued on to explain that with Hiroko's cause of death being strangulation, that had to mean she was the one to be murdered first. After all, he believed had she succeeded with murder, it would be impossible for her to kill herself through strangulation or even hang Hideaki's body from the shower head due to her broken wrists.

"So without a doubt, Hideaki had to have killed Hiroko by strangling her and then proceeding to kill himself. In fact to convince you even further since you don't believe my words..." Toshiro said before turning toward Monokuma and continuing, "Monokuma, before the murders, how many of us used the motive you presented?"

The robotic bear hummed to himself in thought, tapping his paws on top of the armrests before responding "Well, I suppose it will be fine. It's fair since it gives you guys clues but doesn't the give away culprit's identity. Before the murders, five of you used the motive, one of the five actually being one of the victims."

"Five of us and one of those people being either Hideaki or Hiroko." Isamu noted with a hum, "Well you guys can narrow it down to four since you all know that I was one of the five that used the motive."

Feeling he had proven his point, Toshiro chuckled happily. What he hoped would be the final nail in the coffin, he mentioned the note he found in Hideaki's pocket. He mentioned he had found it while studying the body, but chose to place it back where he found it in order not to disturb the scene. Since no kind of note was found on Hiroko's body, he was convinced the speech debater herself had been the one to send the note possibly after she had accepted the motive. His brown eyes glanced around at his companions faces, seeing their shock and confused expressions at his statement. His logic was still a little shaky since he couldn't be sure for certain if Hiroko was the one to use the motive, but he was convince it wasn't weak enough to destroy his deduction.

Leon took in a deep breath as he shook his head. Once again, the director had presented him with a statement he could easily debunk. Though this time, he didn't consider it due to the teen's arrogant nature. After all, he had found the note poking out from underneath a trashcan. Knowing what he needed to do, he pulled both of the notes out of his pocket, holding them up for everyone to see. At that moment, he noticed that shocked expression painted on Toshiro's face. He couldn't help, but smile a bit, finding it strangely satisfying to see the teen lose his confidence.

Shifting his focus back to the important matter at hand, he explained "In my hands are two notes that have a message requesting to meet in the shower rooms. One of these notes was found in Hideaki's pocket, but the other was found underneath the trashcan near the stairway. There's no doubt in my mind that the second note was given to Hiroko. She had no reason to go to the shower rooms otherwise."

Everyone in the courtroom except for Toshiro and Monokuma gasped in shock at this discovery, stunned to learn that the note was found in a completely different area from the murder scene.

Wanting to bring up suggestions for discussion, Hideyo spoke up "If it wasn't on Hiroko's body at the time, could it be possible whoever this scummy murderer is could have hid it there to make it look like Hiroko was trying to kill Hideaki? It makes sense. Invite them both, kill Hiroko, making it where Hideaki stumbles upon her body and commits suicide out of grief!"

Leon couldn't help but frown at the word suicide. No matter how many times he thought about it, he couldn't wrap his mind around the possibility of Hideaki committing suicide. The way the forensicist spoke fondly about helping everyone reach their full potential, didn't seem to match up with someone that would immediately lose all hope from losing a loved one. In his mind, he imagined Hideaki as someone that would push on, even more so with Hiroko's death. Yet the question remained, why was his body was found hanging from the shower head?

Suddenly, realization struck the baseball player like lightning. It was impossible for Hideaki to have hung himself because he never did, he realized that was only a tactic used by the murderer. He hated to admit it, but he knew the culprit probably would have gotten away with their scheme if he hadn't remembered the detail Naoko had brought up about the rope burns.

With the pieces of the mystery coming together, Leon spoke up "That isn't the case, Hideyo. The true culprit only wanted us to think it was a suicide, when in truth, Hideaki was murdered just like Hiroko. Naoko brought this up; he noticed the rope burns didn't exactly line up with the rope's position. Given that Hideaki had no other injuries on his body, this means the killer had caught him off guard from behind with the rope and used it to strangle him to death."

"In other words, Hideaki was truly unaware of his impending doom. With everything that has happened, you'd think he would be suspicious." Shizko noted with a frown.

The red-head sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. He imagined the forensicist had been suspicious when he received the note, but given the walls to separate each of the stalls, he figured the killer was able to hide in one and waited until they saw the teen walk past them. In that situation, he understood Hideaki would barely have any time to react and be unable to fight off his attacker. At that moment, Leon's heart skipped a bit in shock. With the mystery surrounding Hideaki's death out of the way, he finally knew the order of the deaths.

"It just now dawned on me." Leon stated in a stern tone, "If Hideaki had been caught off guard, wouldn't have seeing Hiroko's body or even seeing the droplets of blood on the floor contradict that? If anything, he would have been too suspicious to investigate the shower rooms. That can only mean one thing, Hideaki was murdered first, not Hiroko!"

"What?!" Toshiro exclaimed, confused and bewildered by the teen's claims, "That's impossible!"

"Actually, it help put things into clearer perspective. If Hiroko arrived around the time the culprit had finished killing Hideaki, her guard would have been up from hearing Hideaki's desperate gags and struggling. With her guard up, that probably would have forced the killer to enter a scuffle with her. It doesn't make sense the killer took careful precautions with setting up Hideaki's fake suicide scene, yet be sloppy with trying to make it look like Hiroko had died from a stabbing. The killer had probably intended to make hers a fake suicide as well." Isas replied.

Leon didn't comment as he thought deeply about the information revealed. He understood the culprit had murdered Hideaki first and Hiroko second, yet the thought that still puzzled him was why Hiroko's nose was broken. He remembered seeing it was smashed pretty badly, to the point it had large amounts of blood around it. The only reason he could see for being the cause was if Hiroko's nose had hit something hard. The possibilities that came to his mind was that the speech debater was hit by her attacker, or if her face managed to smash against something.

 _"Wait... smash?"_ he thought to himself.

His brows furrowed together as he recalled the clues in his mind. The one clue that had yet to be explained was the blood droplets leading into the shower rooms. The knife had been stabbed into her after she was dead and she had no other injuries other than her wrists and nose. He was already convinced that blood had come from her nose, but the question was why it was coming from her nose. He took a few moments in thought until finally a possibility had clicked in his mind. It was now obvious to him why Hiroko's note was under the trashcan, she had hid it there shortly before the killer spotted her.

Leon sighed whilst he clenched his teeth together. He now understood the note was hidden away because Hiroko knew she was going to die and decided to leave behind her final contribution in order to insure the culprit didn't try to destroy it. He figured when the killer saw her kneeling next to the trashcan, the speech debater most likely tried to run due to instinct, resulting in the culprit to trip her up and cause her face to smash against the floor from the fall. Figuring he could share his theory with his companions, he didn't hesitate telling them the reason for Hiroko's broken nose.

"That explains why there's only one trail of blood droplets. That would mean Hiroko wasn't killed in the shower rooms but rather next to the stairway." Seiichi added with his arms folded across his chest, "But, would that mean the killer would have to be fast? I imagine they had to sprint for Hiroko to keep her from running off. I mean the only one among us that can run that fast is..."

The wrestler pause in his sentence as he glanced over at the ginger-headed teen.  
Naoko trembled with his eyes wide in disbelief.

"No! No! You can't be thinking I'm the killer! It's true I used the motive, but the thought of killing never crossed my mind!" he exclaimed in panic.

"You say that, but you were acting weird yesterday. Not to mention, the way you're acting right now is just like Kazuo during the first trial. Guess what he ended up being." Hideyo commented with a hint of anger in her voice.

The sprint runner trembled as his fingers dug into his hair. He couldn't even think of an argument due to being too shocked and frightened. His face turned paler and paler as he listened to Toshiro smugly suggest he had used the motive and was driven to kill. His eyes glanced around the room, searching for anyone that would believe his pleas. But no matter where he searched, he couldn't see anyone coming to his defense. Terrified of the thought of being executed, he began to cry as he pleaded for anyone to believe him.

Leon frowned as his pale-blue eyes focused on the nineteen year-old. While it was true he saw Naoko dash out of Monokuma's business room in a terrified state, he felt then teen's claims to being innocent were genuine. He noticed the ginger-headed teen was truly terrified and confused why the blame was being directed toward him. Recalling Kazuo and even himself, though it was true they were both terrified of dying, he remembered that they both responded with anger rather than sadness. Even Shizko, despite not being the killer herself, responded in anger when she tried to protect Kiyoshi.

He dwelt on his thoughts until he heard Seiichi ask "So we're pretty sure that Naoko is the culprit behind both Hiroko's and Hideaki's murders. Though before we vote, I just have to ask one thing, **why does everyone keep insisting Hiroko's wrists are broken?** "

Upon hearing this, the baseball player raised his brows both of of surprise and confusion. He found it odd how the wrestler seemed genuinely confused about the broken wrists when he had been part of the investigation.

Deciding to explore his curiosity, he responded "Didn't you read the Monokuma File? It stated that Hiroko's wrists were broken."

The wrestler couldn't help but frown in concern before he replied "Yeah I read that. But it's pretty obvious that was a lie added in by Monokuma, Hiroko's wrists are just fine."

Confusion washed over Leon once again from his companion's response. He didn't know why his friend claimed he had read the Monokuma File yet seemed puzzled by Hiroko's wrists to the point he brushed it off as a lie Monokuma simply added to the file. He knew everyone that examined Hiroko's body saw her wrists were broken, meaning it wasn't a lie added in by the robotic bear. Unfortunately, he didn't believe it sounded like the wrestler was intentionally lying. He wondered why Seiichi would be convinced that Hiroko's wrists weren't broken to the point he didn't think he was lying until a horrid realization entered his mind.

The nineteen year-old clenched his teeth as his body shook a bit. Everything finally made sense, yet he still couldn't believe a teenager who liked to view himself as the big brother of the group would truly commit murder.

Sadly knowing there was no other explanation, Leon began in a stern yet somber tone "Seiichi, we examined Hiroko's body and she did have broken wrists. We all know she got in a struggle with her attacker which resulted in them getting broken. The only way you would claim they weren't, yet believe you aren't lying was if you had broken them unknowingly. Yet if you were one to break her wrists, that means you were the one to kill her."

Once those words left those words left his mouth, he noticed Seiichi's expression seemed to darken. Whether it was out of anger of being caught, or horror from discovering his unintentional mistake, he did not know. Even though it pained him a bit, he knew the most important thing was to expose the wrestler's lies and pinpoint him as the murderer. He watched as his guilty companion remained silent for a few seconds before finally rubbing at his shoulder with a grunt.  
Seiichi's eyes focused on the red-head standing across from him in the circle of stands.

Making sure he remained calm in front of his friends, he argued against the baseball player's point, insisting he hadn't checked Hiroko's body and believed the Monokuma File lied about that detail by claiming the robotic bear had added false facts to the previous files. But much to his horror, his claim was instantly debunked by the demented bear himself, proving that he only omitted information from the files. Nervous sweat began forming on his brow as his mind desperately searched for excuses. Unsure what else to do, the black-haired teen began lashing out at the baseball player.

His body trembled as he yelled out many desperate claims for innocence, constantly insisting that Naoko was the true murderer. He only acted on instinct alone whilst shouting every argument he could come up with from the top of his head. He didn't want to die by Monokuma's hands, not when he had yet to escape. Scared of death and driven by his desperation to escape the killing game, Seiichi clenched his hands into two firm fists with determination clearly burning in his hands.

"You keep claiming I have no proof that Naoko is the culprit! Well you don't have any proof that he didn't do it! For all we know, he could have been the one to write those notes and killed them! If you're so convinced of his innocence, show me proof that he had nothing to do with the murders!" he yelled in anger.

Leon sighed as he stared at the angry wrestler before him. He considered the teen's appearance such a drastic difference from the one he had come to known. It was hard for him to believe a teenage boy with such a friendly demeanor was willing to allow his friends to die just so he could escape. He didn't doubt that Seiichi had his reasons for trying to betray his friends, but those reasons were pointless. As much it pained him, Leon understood he was forced to sacrifice yet another one of his friends just to insure he and his companions stayed alive.

Taking in a deep sigh as he gathered up his nerves, Leon stated in a stern yet regretful tone "I'm sorry, Seiichi, but we can't all die for your sake. Which means I have no choice but to expose your lie."

He paused for a moment to pull out noneother than the notes Naoko had written during the investigation and continued "I saw with my own eyes Naoko writing this note when were searching for clues in the shower rooms. If he's truly the killer like you insist, **then why does the handwriting not match?** "

At that moment, Seiichi froze in fear. He had no idea the sprint runner was actually taking notes during the investigation. Had he known, he would had made sure no one discovered it in order to protect his lie. Seeing that making more false claims would be pointless, the wrestler sighed loudly as his hands dropped to his sides. There was nothing more he could do; there was no way he could keep the truth hidden anymore. With a bitter smile full of regret and a bit of relief that at least his friends wouldn't have to die, he admitted defeat and truth of being the culprit responsible for Hideaki's and Hiroko's murders.

 _Seiichi's heart pounded in nervousness as he remained hidden away in the shower stalls with the rope in his hands. A part of him was screaming to turn back, begging for him to reconsider. But unfortunately, he chose to ignore that part of him. He hoped that by murdering Hiroko and Hideaki, the group wouldn't solve the mystery since the forensicist and speech debater had played a huge role in uncovering previous culprits' identities. Suddenly his thoughts were shattered when he heard the sound of footsteps shortly followed by the sight of Hideaki walking past his stall._

 _The wrestler's hands clamped down on the rope both out of nervousness and determination. Even with some second thoughts still lingering within him, he was convinced that he had gone too far to turn back. With his mind set, he didn't waste any time dashing toward Hideaki's back and throwing the rope around his neck. The nineteen year-old did he best to ignore his friend's gags and desperate struggles as he pulled on both ends of the rope, forcing it to tighten around the teenager's neck. It didn't take long as he slowly watched the teen's struggles slow until finally his head slumped upon death._

 _Tears formed in Seiichi's eyes, hating the act he was forced to preform. Making sure to be as careful as possible, he gently lowered Hideaki's lifeless body to the ground. All that remained for him was to wait for Hiroko to enter the shower rooms to murder her the same way. He quickly dashed out of the shower rooms, wanting to grab another rope for the murder. But the moment he left the shower rooms, his body froze in fear when he saw Hiroko staring at him in fear whilst kneeling down next to a trashcan._

 _Panic filled him when he saw the teenage girl quickly scamper to her feet to dash for the stairs. His heart nearly skipped a beat as he immediately lunged for her, desperate to keep her from escaping. Fortunately for him, he managed to lunge just in time to grab the teenage girl by her ankle. He flinched in guilt as he watched the speech debater instantly fall with her face smashing against the floor. Knowing he didn't have much time, the wrestler quickly scrambled to his knees, flipping Hiroko onto her back before pinning her down with his knee._

 _He could see the fear and panic in the girl's ruby red eyes. Feeling guilty once more for what he was about to do, he muttered out an apology before attempting to wrap his hands around her neck. But he wasn't able to do this, quickly noticing Hiroko had grabbed a hold of his wrists and was trying to force them away from her neck. Seiichi only struggled with her grip for a few seconds until he managed to successfully use his strength to overpower the girl's grip. But upon doing this, he failed to notice the small snap emitted from Hiroko's wrists from being bent back too far._

 _He didn't even noticed Hiroko's cry in pain due to him quickly clasping his hands around her neck. His heart ached as his hands tightened around the speech debater's neck. He kept strangling until finally he watched the girl's body go slack with her eyes now permanently closed. The wrestler took in deep breaths as he lifted his knee off his lifeless friend's chest. Knowing the murder scene still needed to be set up, Seiichi silently picked up the lifeless girl's body and carried it to the shower rooms. But with every step he took, the guilt from murdering two of his friends weighed heavier and heavier on his heart._

Seiichi let out a loud depressed sigh, unable to give any of his friends eye contact. He couldn't bare to look at the betrayed and heartbroken stares directed toward him. He didn't even want to imagine how angry Naoko was with him, especially when he tried to convince everyone that he had been the killer. He remained silent for a few moments until finally he lifted up his head toward Monokuma.

"Alright, Monokuma, let's get this over with. You can announce the voting time." he muttered, sadness and regret dripping off each of his words.

Monokuma couldn't help but chuckle in delight. He simply loved the despair that lingered in the room from each of the teens. With each murderer revealed, he noticed the despair within the teens worsen each time. With the group's number growing smaller with each trial, he believed it wouldn't be long until every one of their hopes would be broken. He watched as each of the teens sadly placed their votes before announcing the correct unanimous vote choosing Seiichi as the blackened.

"Seiichi, why did you kill them? You were so nice, what could have possibly driven you to kill them?" Mineko asked with a frown.

The wrestler's body shuttered in response with a few tears brimming in his eyes. He knew he would die soon, so he believed he owed his friends the truth.

"I was just desperate to get out of here. I had to get out of here." Seiichi confessed in a broken tone, "To be honest, I actually went to Monokuma to find out about my younger sister. She had grown ill recently and like the big brother I am, I did everything to help my family pay for her hospital bills. Much to my horror, when I had asked about her, Monokuma revealed her illness had worsened and she was actually dying in the hospital. I couldn't stand the thought of her dying alone in a hospital bed. I wanted to be with her during her last moments! I didn't want to kill anyone, but I couldn't afford to wait any longer! I had to see her before she died!"

Broken sobs started escaping his mouth as tears streaked down his face. He had wanted to escape in order to see his sister, but instead, his sister ended up losing him.

"Boy, for a wrestler, you're such a crybaby." Monokuma mocked, "Though I still wish that you hadn't killed Hiroko. I never got the chance to punish her personally."

Upon hearing this Leon's brows furrowed together in confusion.

"Punish? Why would she be punished?" he asked.

The robotic bear glanced toward the nineteen year-old, a few snarls managing to escape his mouth.

"Grr! It's makes me angry just thinking about it! She actually came to me to use the motive!" the demented bear explained, surprising everyone in the courtroom, "She said she wanted to check up on her mom, but that was a ploy! She was just using the motive as an advantage to steal an important item from my Business Room! I didn't even known she had taken it until I noticed it was gone long after she had left! Gah! Now with her dead, I don't know where she hid it either! Even in death she infuriates me!"

Leon's mouth slowly opened in shock from the explanation he received. He had no idea that Hiroko had managed to secretly take something, now understanding why so many X's had been drawn over her portrait. He couldn't help but wonder what the object could have been.

Unfortunately, he found himself awakened from his thoughts by Monokuma announcing "Ugh, I need cheering up and I know just how to do that! So without further ado, it's time for the moment we've all been waiting for!"

Tears continued to streak down Seiichi's face as he apologized "Seems like I failed to be a good big brother for this group."

Dread and fear seemed to fill each of the teens as they heard Monokuma continue "Now I've prepared a very special punishment for Seiichi Hyousuke, the Ultimate Wrestler! So get ready..."

Forming one last smile on his face whilst wiping eyes his tears, the wrestler said "I just hope one day you guys have it in your hearts to forgive me. Work together and escape alive. Don't make the same mistake I did."

With the last of his words, the robotic bear proclaimed proudly "IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!"

Though he was terrified of the fate to befall him, Seiichi didn't utter any objections as the demented bear slammed his gavel down on the red button. The only thing he could hear was the sound of his breathing and the frantic pounding of his heart. Suddenly, without warning, the floor underneath him tilted down into the formation of a slide. The wrestler let out a surprised yell whilst his body slid down into a dark shaft. His arms frantically flailed against the walls, searching for anything to halt his decent. But unfortunately, he couldn't find anything to grab a hold of.

He kept sliding until finally he was dumped out on top of a circular platform designed to look like a wrestler's ring. The black-haired teen silently glanced around at his surroundings, easily noticing the multiple slides surrounding the platform. He was confused until the sound of rumbling reached his ears. In that instant, giant balls with sumo wrestlers painted on them rolled into view at the top of the slides. Seiichi's heart panicked in fear as frantically looked around, terrified of the moment the balls would start rolling down the slides toward him. Finally he noticed Monokuma standing next to a giant gong whilst smiling slyly.

 **Last Man Standing: Seiichi Hyousuke's Punishment**

Without any kind of warning, Monokuma instantly pulled out a giant hammer and smashed it against the gong. In that instant, the balls on top of the slides started rolling down them at top speeds. The wrestler cried out in pain as the giant balls started slamming into his body. He desperately tried running to avoid being hit, but unfortunately couldn't do so due to the balls hitting him from all directions. The nineteen year-old clenched his teeth in pain as parts of his body was now swelled and bruised from the impact of the giant balls.

With each hit, the teenager was knocked closer to the edge of the platform. He struggled to desperately force himself back to the center of the platform, only to get knocked back toward the edge to the point he nearly lost his footing. Curious as to what would happen if he were to be knocked off the platform, he glanced downward. But the moment he did this, his heart had nearly stopped. Below the platform was a giant pit filled with hundreds of spike. Seiichi gulped nervously as he turned toward the final ball speeding toward him.

Gathering up his courage, his steadied his feet and held out his arms. Using his stance from wrestling, he managed to catch the ball heading toward him and actually keep it from knocking him off the platform. His brown eyes widened in surprise, shocked that he actually managed to survive. Relief washed over him until the sound of loud rumbling reach his ears. At that moment, an even larger ball managed to smash into his side, knocking him off the platform. A short terrified scream escaped Seiichi's mouth as he fell; his eyes wide in terror. His body fell at top speeds, his scream filling the air until it was silenced.

Everyone was speechless at the sight that now lay before them, unable to tear their eyes away from the lifeless wrestler's body now impaled by many spikes. It was hard for them to believe the kind hearted teen was driven to murder just so he could be with his dying sister. They still couldn't believe that they had bare witness to the execution of Seiichi Hyousuke.

 **Killing Game Students - 8 Remain**


	22. Chapter 22 - Final Contribution

Chapter 22

Leon could feel his body shaking with both anger and fear as he stared at Seiichi Hyousuke's lifeless body. He found himself deeply disturbed that the wrestler's final moments was of him letting out a terrified shriek that rang in his ears. He squeezed his eyes shut as the images of Kazuo's, Kiyoshi's, and Seiichi's terrified faces filled his mind. Every face seemed to remind him of the same fear that coursed through him during his own execution. His eyes squeezed tighter close when he remembered Hiroko questioning why he didn't try to stop any of the deaths.

At the time, the baseball player believed there was simply nothing he could do to stop the murders. Yet the horrid realization struck him that he never even tried in the first place. He knew he gave his advice to his friends, trying to keep them from failing into despair. But when it came to the executions, he only stood by and watched as each of his friends feared for and lost their lives.

 _"I know they needed to be sacrificed in order to keep ourselves alive,"_ Leon thought to himself with his fists clenched, _"but I could have at least tried to stand up to Monokuma. I didn't want them to die, yet I silently stood by and watch them die. All because I was too terrified to lose my own life. I hated that no one even tried to stop Monokuma from executing me, even if what I did was wrong. Yet, I'm doing the exact same thing now. God, I'm such a hypocrite."_

Unfortunately the teenager found his frustrated thoughts redirected when he heard Toshiro complimenting Seiichi's execution. Even though he successfully angered the director during the trial, his feelings of satisfaction was replaced with anger with the realization that the brown-headed teen had got what he wanted in the end.

"To be honest, I thought you were simply trying to crush him with those balls. It never occurred to me that you would take a term from wrestling and make it literal. Very creative and amazing on your part." Toshiro stated with a large grin.

None of the teens bothered to comment on the director's twisted view of creativity. In their eyes, it was pointless to call the director out for his statements. Three trials they witnessed the execution of three of their friends, yet three deaths were unable to discourage the aspiring director from caring less about their lives. Feeling the mental exhaustion bearing down upon them from the murders and trial, all the teens remained silent as they made their way to the elevator to head to their rooms for the night.

Leon inhaled deeply through his nose with his hands stuffed into his pockets. He didn't like how the killing game constantly continued to make him wearier and wearier with each day. He couldn't even understand how Makoto and the rest of the survivors in his previous killing game even managed to retain their sanity to the very end, a task he and his companions struggle to maintain after seven deaths. He remained lost in his thoughts until the sound of creaking reached his ears. Curious to what the sound was, the nineteen year-old lifted his head to see the door to Hiroko's room was slightly open.

 _"I don't think Hiroko would have left her door open. Someone has to be in there, probably searching for whatever that thing was that Hiroko stole from Monokuma."_ he concluded in his thoughts.

Deciding to confirm his theory, he pulled his hand out of his pocket and pushed the door open. Yet once inside the room, the red-head was shocked and confused to see no one in the room at all. Confusion filled his mind until he heard yet another creak. Without any hesitation he quickly spun toward the sound to see Hiroko's closet was now slightly open. The teen pursed his lips as his body stiffened with uncertainty. Believing whoever entered the room was now hiding in the closet, the baseball player didn't waste any time swinging the closet door open.

But much to his shock and confusion, instead of being greeted with the sight of someone hiding in the closet, he saw the closet was completely empty. Leon's heart raced a bit as he took a few cautious steps away from the closet, growing confused and worried as to its state. Confused thoughts continued to swarm within his mind until it was finally shattered by the sound of footsteps approaching. Curiosity immediately filled his mind until, suddenly, he felt a pair of hands grab his shoulder. He didn't even get the chance to so much as yelp as he found himself pulled backwards into the closet with the door closing in front of him.

Leon's mind raced in panic with his eyes desperately searching the dark, trying to find who had pulled him into the closet. He panicked until he felt a small, delicate hand press over his mouth with a gentle voice urging him to remain quiet. His eyes widened the moment he heard the voice, recognizing it as the very same one that urged him to awake after he had passed out at the end of the first trial. At the time, he brushed it off as him simply hearing Mineko's voice, but now he knew that was not to be the case.

Wanting to see if his theory was correct, he quietly whispered out the best he could with the hand still over his mouth "It's you isn't it? The girl I saw after I died. You've been helping me haven't you? Why are you helping me?"

Unfortunately, the athlete never received an answer. Instead, he found his thoughts redirected to the sound of footsteps and shuffling papers on the other side of the closet door. His eyes narrowed as he listened to, what was undeniably, the sound of someone searching the room. While the sounds were a bit muffled, he could hear a few grunts of frustration as the person kept muttering "She had to have hid it somewhere. There's only so many blind spots she could have taken advantage of."

At that moment, Leon felt his heart nearly stopped in realization. There was no doubt in his mind the one he was hearing search Hiroko's room was none other than the Mastermind. It was the only reasonable possibility he could think of considering that none of his other companions showed any interest in the object Hiroko had secretly stolen from Monokuma. The teenager remained silent as he listened to Mastermind continue to search the room, trying to figure if they were male or female. Unfortunately, due to the door muffling the sounds, he was unable to identify the possible gender of the Mastermind by their voice alone.

A few more minutes passed by until he heard the sound a frustrated sigh followed by the ones of footsteps leaving the room and the door closing. Leon couldn't help but sigh in relief the moment he felt the hand that had been placed over his mouth that entire time finally lower. Hoping to receive answers, he opened his mouth to ask his question again. But before he could utter a single word, he felt a board hit his shoulder and saw the closet door swing open once more.

"Guess she didn't feel like explaining herself." Leon muttered to himself before turning his attention to the board that had hit him.

Laying on the floor near the board was a small folded up note, having fallen out of a small hole in the wall. He didn't even have to guess to know the note was hidden in the hole and cover up with the board by Hiroko. Curious at to what the deceased speech debater left behind, he picked up the note and carefully unfolded it. His brows slowly raised in shock and belief when he saw the inside of the note contained a small black USB flash drive with Monokuma's red eye painted on it. There no question about it, he knew the flash drive had to be the thing Hiroko had stolen, especially evident with the fact Monokuma's eye was painted on it.

Shifting his attention away from the flash drive for a moment, he began reading the note left behind by Hiroko.

"Leon, if you're reading this then that means I've died in this killing game." he read out loud whilst his body tensed slightly, "I have no doubt that Monokuma will try to subtly persuade one of our friends into murdering me should they use the motive. After all, I have taken an important item of his. During our previous visits to the Business Room, I always noticed Monokuma would get nervous if one of us were standing too close to a small desk in the corner of the room. He never drew attention to it probably to avoid causing our curiosity to become peaked. That is why I decided to use the motive in order to distract Monokuma and take this flash drive that I found inside of it. I have no idea what's on it, but it has to be important if Monokuma didn't want us to know about it. Should you find a computer, I urge you learn learn of the info it contains. I trust you the most due to your prior experience in the killing game. I hope my final contribution will help expose the Mastermind."

The baseball player grunted as he ran his free hand through his hair. He found it hard to believe that Hiroko had anticipated her death, yet did nothing to prevent it. A part of him wondered if the teenage girl had chosen to have more faith in her friends despite the suspicions lingering about her death. But no matter how much he thought about it, he knew he never truly know what was running through the teenage girl's mind now that she was dead. Seeing no reason to stay in the closet any longer, he stuffed the flash drive into his pocket and left the room. All the while, hoping that Monokuma wouldn't notice his departure.

The next day, Leon yawned as he made his way to the lunch room. His entire body was overwhelmed with the feeling of exhaustion. He couldn't stop thinking about Seiichi's execution, Hiroko's final contribution, and the mysterious spirit that continues to help him. Because of this, he ended up restless throughout the entire night; unable to sleep with his mind desperately searching for the answers he craved. It only took him a few minutes to reach the lunch room, but once there, he was greeted with a shocking sight. The nineteen year-old's eyes immediately widened, exhaustion vanishing from his mind when he saw Hideyo on top of Toshrio with Isas trying to pull her off by the shoulders.

"Take it back! Take that comment back!" the stunt actress snarled with her hands tightly squeezing the teenage boy's neck.

The brown-headed teen gagged with his mouth hanging wide open, desperately trying to gain any air he could. His hands tightly clung onto the ones enclosed around his, pulling and clawing at them in a frantic manner.

"Hideyo! That's enough, Hideyo! You're going to kill him at this rate!" Isas shouted in a panicked yet stern tone, his hands tightly gripping the black-haired girl's shoulders while pulling with all his strength.

Knowing he simply couldn't stand by and watch, Leon quickly dashed over and helped the race car driver pull Hideyo off of Toshiro.  
The very moment his neck was finally freed from the athletic girl's iron grip, the aspiring director coughed and gasped, inhaling the air he had been deprived of seconds ago. He continued to cough as he pushed himself into a hunched over sitting position.

"Do I even need to ask what happened here?" the red-head asked as the remaining survivors finally entered the lunch room.

With a sneer clearly painted on her face, Hideyo glared at Toshiro and answered "This damn scum here says he was happy Seiichi was driven to kill. He doesn't even care that Seiichi's actions cost us the lives of two of our friends and his own! It infuriates me that he can make such a disgusting comment while smiling at the same time! All he cares is about seeing those stupid executions!"

Still trying to regain his breath, Toshiro responded in a raspy yet angry voice "Once again, it seems I must justify myself. I don't like that I lost three friends because of Seiichi's actions. but despite that, I have to thank him for granting me the opportunity to witness yet another creative execution. If he wasn't driven to desperation by Monokuma, I would have never got to witness such an event."

The stunt actress snarled before she tried lunging at the teenage boy once more, only to found herself firmly held back by Isas. She couldn't help but bare her teeth at the brown-headed teen, wishing to express the rage she felt toward him. She didn't believe the teen's claims to mourning for those that had died in the killing game thus far. In her mind, no one who gave at least an ounce of care for the dead would happily comment on their deaths as if it were only a mere spectacle. Twelve days she had remained trapped with her friends in the abandoned factory, and over those twelve days she had lost seven friends she had came to care for. A fact that gave her grief, but enraged her that Toshiro took delight in.

She snapped out of her thoughts by Isas commenting "His lack of care for our deceased friends disgust me too. But you can't just take out your anger on him, that's what Monokuma wants. He wants us to be at each other's throats in order to make a killing more likely to happen. If we all want to escape this killing game alive, we need to tolerate each other until we come up with a plan."

"Easier said than done." Shizko commented with her arms crossed, "It still angers me the comments he made while I was in my heartbroken state. Kiyoshi had been my very first friend, yet he treated her death like it was casual topic."

Toshiro let out one last cough before wiping his mouth on the sleeve of his jacket. His brown eyes glanced around at the angry yet disappointed glares directed toward him. His body stiffened with his brows furrowed together in anger and frustration. He didn't understand why everyone continued to hate him. It seemed no matter what action he took, everyone would always criticize him. Out of rage, he bit down hard on his lip and dug his nails into the palm of his hands.

"No matter what, people hate me. Even when I give them what they want by caring about nothing but the spectacle, people continue to hate me. What will it take for people to finally acknowledge me?" he muttered under his breath, anger clearly burning in his eyes.

Suddenly, without warning, the tense atmosphere filling the room was shattered by the sound of familiar laughter. Everyone turned to see Monokuma standing in the entrance way of the lunch room with a smug yet mischievous, large grin painted on his face.

"Oh! There's so much sexual tension in this room!" the bear taunted with his face turning red, "You think would think there wouldn't be any more of that after musclehead killed off that dirty rotten backstabber Hiroko and her boyfriend. Yet it appears that's not the case. Then again, Ms. Music Composer here did seem a little too comfortable on Leon's lap, who knows what thoughts crossed her mind."

The moment Mineko heard those words, her face turned blood red. Suddenly feeling very self conscious she glanced down at the floor with her feet shuffling a bit, not daring to glance at Leon out of fear of seeing his reaction.

"There's no such tension here!" Hideyo snapped out of disgust, "That would imply I'm attracted to this sleazeball! Now stop messing around and get to the real reason you're here. We all know by this point that you always come here after a trial to tell us that we've unlocked a new area of the factory to explore."

The robotic bear simply chuckled at the girl's words. It had surprised him when he witnessed the exact moment the teenage girl tackled Toshiro and started strangling him from his security cameras. he had hoped she would unintentionally trigger the next murder, but much to his disappoint, Isas had been there to prevent the teenage girl from strangling the director to death. But despite not getting the desired outcome he hoped for, he was still very thrilled to witness the fighting and struggles among the teens.

Without a word, he glanced over at Leon to see the nineteen year-old glaring at him. He hummed to himself as his red eye glowed slightly in thought. Once again, the teen seemed familiar to him, yet no matter how much he tried, he continued to struggle to recall where he had seen him before. For him, trying to remember the answer was like trying to scratch a certain itch yet not being able to reach. After a few seconds of allowing his thoughts to stew, he gave up and brushed them aside. If he couldn't find the answer right away, he believed he still had plenty of time to learn the answer.

"Alright, alright. You win you party poopers." Monokuma replied with the wave of his paws, "I can see when I'm not wanted. I thought we surely would have grown since in two days it will mark the second week anniversary since this killing game started. You guys game such a long way. Seven chumps lost their lives and that number will only grow! Puhuhu! Who knows how many of you guys will be left by the end of this. Anyways, the factory basement is now available to you. Whelp, see ya chumps later!'

With one last laugh, the black and white bear left the room.

"Does he always have to call us chumps? Calling us that implies we're being tricked somehow." Naoko asked out of confusion.

Leon didn't utter a single reply as his eyes focused on the spot the demented bear once stood in. He could feel anger and sadness bubble up inside him from the bear's word, the guilt of losing seven of his friends weighing heavily on him. There was no way he could predict if any of remaining companions would consider murder, especially with the countless possibilities Monokuma could use as motives for murder. The only thing he knew he could do was end the killing game by exposing the Mastermind behind the game itself.

With his mind set, his hand dug into his pocket and tightened around the flash drive left behind by Hiroko. He only hoped he could fulfill her dying wish and find a laptop to use the flash drive on. Those thoughts filled his mind as he headed toward the stairway with the rest of his companions.


	23. Chapter 23 - Basements and Videos

Chapter 23

The group of teens didn't utter a single word as they traversed down the stairs. None of them felt like having the energy to try to brighten the mood in a desperate attempt to draw their attention from the deadly situation they were trapped in. All they could do was explore the new area and await the motive they continue to dread. It was almost like they were trapped in a psychotic cycle; they would explore, a motive would be revealed, someone is killed, someone is sentenced to death, before finally starting all over again. It wasn't long until the remaining participants found themselves greeted with a room full darkness.

"Ugh, the least Monokuma could have done is left the light on. I see no light switches here, so I guess we'll have to blindly search for it." Shizko groaned in annoyance.

With little choice to choose from, each of the ultimates made their way into the dark basement.  
Leon was about to enter the basement until he noticed Mineko completely frozen in place. He could see pure terror painted on her face as her eyes were fixated on the dark basement. A part of him considered if the music composer was simply terrified at the thought of the basement becoming yet another scene for murder, but he quickly brushed that thought aside when he remembered how the nineteen year-old was able to search the other areas with ease.

Deciding to find out what's wrong, the red-head asked "Is there something on your mind, Mineko?"

Upon hearing the mention of her name, the nineteen year-old girl gasped with her body jolting in surprise. She shook her head a few times, finally tearing her gaze away from the dark basement and directing it toward the teenage boy standing before her.

"Nothing much. I guess I'm just nervous about searching the basement." she replied in a slight shaky tone.

The baseball player couldn't help but raise a brow in confusion and interest. He couldn't think of a reason that made the basement any different from the previous new areas he explored. But as much as he wanted an answer, he figured he wouldn't get an answer no matter how much he pressed for one. Instead, the teenager simply chose to sigh as he held out a free hand for his companion.

"Here, you can hold on if you're nervous. I promise to not let go." he stated in a soft tone.

His pale-blue eyes carefully studied Mineko's face, noticing a few brief seconds of surprise before being replaced with a mixture of thankfulness and nervous. The moment she took a hold of his hand, Leon's brows rose as an old memory quickly rushed through his mind. He could recall a smiling Sayaka grabbing firmly a hold of his hand and tugging him along in order to look around at the school festival. He remained speechless as he glanced up at the music composer, seeing her flash that smile that reminded him so much of the girl he had killed.

Drawing his thoughts back to reality, he tightened his grip around Mineko's hand, fingers carefully intertwined as he guided her down into the basement. Using his free hand, he felt along the walls to search for a light switch. All around him, he could hear the sounds of his companions searching as well. He managed to hear Naoko's panicked apologies after he accidentally pressed his hand against Hideyo's chest, Toshiro yelling as he tripped over an unseen object, Shizko yelp in pain when her head hit an object, and Mineko's panicked breathing.

Finally, within an instant, the lights came on, allowing the athlete to see everyone's status in the room. He quickly spotted Isas standing near the back of the room with his hand on the light switch, revealing he had been the one to turn on the lights. With the lights now on, he could see the basement was full of shelves with emergency supplies such as flashlights, buckets, and tools.

"So, I'm guessing this basement is used for when employees had to deal with blackouts or mechanical breakdowns." Naoko commented whilst rubbing his cheek which was now red and swollen from Hideyo slapping it.

"And once again it's a room full of potential murder weapons." Isamu sighed with a frown, "Someone is going to get a killed again aren't they?"

Leon didn't reply to the girl's comment as he glanced sideways, unsure exactly how to respond to such a statement. But upon doing this, something managed to catch his eye. In the corner of the room was a solitary table with a dusty laptop on it surrounded by a pile of papers. His heart nearly skipped a beat in shock at the fact he could possibly discover what information the flash drive Hiroko had stolen held. The baseball player tried walking over to the desk to investigate until he felt a tug on his hand. He quickly turned around to see Mineko was still clinging tightly onto his hand.

"Oh! Sorry about that!" the light-brown-headed girl immediately apologized as she quickly pulled her hand away.

Deciding to ignore the flustered girl for the moment, Leon turned back toward the table, prompting the rest of the participants to direct their attention toward it as well.  
Without a word, Isas picked up the one of the papers from the table, blowing the dust off it before started reading it.

"Well I think we now know why this factory is abandoned. The company was apparently in severe debt to the point they had to file for bankruptcy. These papers are a bunch of bills for all the money the factory owners owed." the racer stated whilst placing the paper back on the table.

"Guess business wasn't all that great. It was a rope factory after all." Shizko commented while doing her best not to sneeze from the dust.

Pushing aside his friends' commentary, the red-head sat down at the table and opened up the laptop. Much to his relief, the laptop didn't require a password and functioned just fine. Fully intending to fulfill Hiroko's dying wish, he pulled the flash drive out of his pocket. He didn't waste any time explaining how the flash drive was Hiroko's way of providing her final contribution.

"It does make sense. Monokuma did mention that Hiroko managed to steal something from him before she died. Knowing Hiroko, it had to be important. Let's check it out." Isas urged.

Nodding his head in agreement, Leon plugged the flash drive into the laptop. The moment the flash drive was plugged in, a folder appeared on the screen with a single video file. Seeing nothing else to click on, the nineteen year-old opened up the video file. Suddenly his body froze with his face turning pale when he was greeted with the sight of a dark haired man with olive green eyes and whiskers chained to a giant to a wooden plank. His body shuddered as the images of himself chained to a pole during his execution flashed through his mind.

Fortunately the teen found himself snapped out of his haunting thoughts by the sound of the man's voice. He could see the main jerk and struggle to get out of his bonds whilst demanding for an explanation for his situation. Leon didn't understand what was happening in the video until he heard a familiar laugh he had come to both fear and hate on the video. He couldn't see Monokuma, but he could hear his typical yet demented voice taunting the man chained to the plank.

"You should feel honored, you're going to be a great example to show the employees what happens to those that stand in my way." Monokuma spoke in an uncharacteristic professional tone, "Those that want to stop me and my killing game will be punished."

All of the sudden, a series of spotlights turned on, revealing the man was lined up with a series of wooden ducks usually found in a shooting gallery. Leon saw the panicked look on the man's face as he glanced back and forth at his surroundings. A part of him wanted to deny what he was about to watch, but knowing Monokuma, there was no doubt in the baseball player's mind. He knew he was about to watch yet another execution.

"Now I've prepared a very special punishment for Takechi Kichiro, the troublemaker. So get ready! IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!" Monokuma proclaimed with delight.

 **Bullseye: Takechi Kichiro's Punishment**

Without any kind of warning, the wooden ducks and the plank Takechi was chained to started swinging back and forth. Leon watched speechlessly as the man cried out in pain as a gigantic spray of bullets was sent flying toward him. He noticed none of the bullets hit any of the man's vital organs, but were still severly injuring him regardless. He watched as the bullets kept firing and firing until finally they stopped. The teenager could see Takechi was gasping in pain with his body covered in blood from the many gunshots he received.

"Sa-" Takechi began to yell but unfortunately found himself silenced by a single bullet being fired one last time and piercing his forehead.

Leon felt sick upon seeing the man with his eyes frozen in shock and his head slumped to the side. Unfortunately his sick feeling only grew when he was greeted with the sight of a yellow, flashing text reading "Winner!" below the man's body before being crushed by a giant Monokuma plushie. The last thing the red-head saw on the video was the bloody Monokuma plushie and the sounds of the demented bear's laughter before the screen went black. He couldn't help but swallow hard, feeling his mouth had gone dry from the horrifying scene he had witnessed.

Silently he turned back toward his companions to see the horrified expressions painted on each of their faces. He even saw Toshiro, who was normally delighted by the sight of executions, was left speechless and terrified by the video.

Horrified silence continued to linger in the air until it was finally shattered by Isamu asking in a shaky tone "Who was that man and why did Monokuma kill him?"

"Basing it off of what Monokuma said," Isas began with a small shudder "it seemed that man was trying to stop this killing game in the first place. Unfortunately for him, the Mastermind behind this killing game must have caught wind of it and decided to subject him to a punishment. He said the man's name was Takechi Kichiro, but I've never heard of anyone by that name."

"But it doesn't make any sense, why would Monokuma be mad that Hiroko took a flash drive with a video of him killing some random guy?" Naoko asked out of confusion.

Everyone remained silent in thought until they found themselves startled by Shizko gasping.  
Determination sparkled in the silver-haired girl's eyes as she explained the reason behind Monokuma's anger at Hiroko's actions. At first glance the video seemed pointless to her, especially since it showcased the death of a man she didn't even know. But after recalling the words spoken in the video, she realized that Monokuma mentioned a certain word that could provide as an important clue pointing toward the Mastermind's identity. That word was none other than "Employees."

"Think about it." Shizko began in a stern tone, "How did the Mastermind manage to gather information on all of us and even kidnap us in the first place? It would be impossible since we're not in the same class or even the same school like those in Hope's Peak Academy's killing game. The Mastermind couldn't have pulled this off without help. In other words, they had employees working for them and used this video of Takechi Kichiro's execution to serve as motivation for them to help."

Leon's hands curled into two firm fists as everything clicked in his mind. He now understood how the Mastermind managed to gain so much information surrounding them such as their talents, friends and families, and phobias. He even now understood the mysterious men in black suits that were responsible for their kidnappings in the first place. All those actions had been done by people who report directly to the Mastermind out of fear they would be killed just like Takechi Kichiro. But despite knowing how the Mastermind was able to gain information, he still didn't have any kind of idea as to who the Mastermind is.

The only clues he knew was that the Mastermind was a Hope's Peak graduate, having been scouted by the school thanks to their family lineage, and they had enough power to afford employees. Yet none of those things even answered the question as to why the Mastermind wanted another killing game in the first place. The nineteen year-old desperately wanted to expose the Mastermind and finally put an end to the deadly situation he was trapped in, but without clues, he had no choice but to continue enduring the hellish game.

"You know, Monokuma has been strangely quiet. Doesn't he usually announce the motive around this time?" Naoko commented with a sigh.

"Don't say things like that, you'll just make us more nervous." Mineko replied in a nervous tone.

Leon furrowed his brows together in uncertainty. The only time Monokuma didn't immediately announce the motive after revealing a new area was when the demented bear was searching for the file that went missing. It was possible that the Mastermind was still desperately searching for the missing flash drive, but deep down, he felt that wasn't the case.

"There's no telling what's going on in that damn bear's head. I just don't like to think about it. We'll deal with it when the time comes." Hideyo grumbled in annoyance.

Unsure what else to do, the group of teens decided to leave the basement. Leon was about to leave until he felt a tug on his shoulder. Without any hesitation, he turned to see Isas standing behind him. Much to his surprise, the teen suggested for the two of them to head up to the shower rooms. The baseball player found himself a little puzzled by the race car driver's invitation. The only reason he could think of for the black-haired teen wanting to meet in the shower rooms alone was if he wanted to discuss something he didn't want Monokuma to hear about.

Figuring that it was best to accept the teen's request, he nodded his head in agreement before heading to the shower rooms with his companion. Once there, much to his relief, Isas revealed his discussion didn't require having to take showers much like Hiroko had them do the previous time. Silently sitting down on the tile floor, Leon was unable to prevent his eyes from glancing over at the stall where Hiroko's and Hideaki's bodies once were. A small frown formed on his face when he saw no sign remained of the murder Seiichi had committed, almost like it never happened.

The red-head found himself stirred from his thoughts by the sound of Isas sighing. His pale-blue eyes glanced over at the race car driver to see him leaning against the wall with a stern yet somber expression painted on his face.

Isas sighed once more before finally asking in a bit of a hesitant tone "I didn't really want to mention this in front of the others. But I couldn't keep these feelings bottled up forever, so I just decided to pick you to talk to. Why do you think the Mastermind chose us?"

The racer's gloved hands clenched slightly as he expressed his confusion and hatred for him and his fourteen friends being forced to play the killing game. In his mind, it didn't make any sense. They weren't from the same school and there was a number of Ultimates in Japan to choose from. Yet out of all the Ultimate students in the country, the fifteen of them were pitted against each other and forced to watch others die.

"It doesn't make sense. If this is a Remnant of Despair, wouldn't it have made more sense for them to go after those connected to Hope's Peak Academy's killing game? The survivors from that horrible event are responsible for Junko Enoshima's death. So why us? Why are we forced to sacrifice our friends and endure through this horrible heartache. I would never forgive myself if I continued to lose my friends, especially Isamu. So why us?" he confessed with his teeth clenched in both anger and sadness.

Leon opened his mouth to reply, only to firmly close it when he didn't have an answer. With Junko, he fully understood the reason why he had been one of the people chosen for the killing game. It was only becuase he happened to be unlucky enough to be one of Junko's classmates, allowing him to be close enough to be an easy target to subject despair to. But with this mysterious Mastermind, there was no reason for him or anyone else to be chosen for the killing game. He had no ties to the participants prior to the killing game, and there seemed to be no hidden connection to the Mastermind.

Unable to come with an answer, Leon finally let out a sigh of defeat as he answered "I don't know. I guess we were just unlucky."

Isas hummed in response with his eyes glancing up at the ceiling. He wanted to believe that it was only an unlucky coincidence they all had been forced into a deadly situation, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. Deep down inside, he felt there was a reason for their selection; something that made them stand out from the other Ultimates in Japan. Unfortunately without any solid evidence, he isn't able to confirm his suspicions. The only thing he could hope for is to continue enduring the killing game with the hopes the Mastermind would eventually slip up. No matter what it took, he intended to escape the academy with the rest of hid friends.


	24. Chapter 24 - Jogging Memories

Chapter 24

Anxiety grew within the group as another day passed by. Each of them dreading and expecting Monokuma to suddenly appear and announce the motive, yet growing nervous at the bear's unusual silence. None of them had seen any sign of the demented bear since he announced that the basement was open for exploration the previous day.  
Leon let out a frustrated as he paced around in his room, his hand frantically scratching his head every so often. His mind kept coming up with multiple reasons for Monokuma's silence.

"He can't still be searching for that flash drive, Monokuma definitely would have seen that we found it first with the help of the cameras in the basement. Unless the Mastermind has something up their sleeve, I don't see any reason for them to be so silent. Gah! I'm getting more paranoid and frustrated with each passing day. Just got to keep it together... just for a little bit longer. I can't slip up... not again." he muttered to himself.

He continued to pace the floor of his room, allowing his heels to dig into the floor a bit, trying anything to burn out his frustration and anxiety. He only finally paused in his actions when he heard the sound of knocking on his door. Not even bothering to ponder if it was one of his friends or Monokuma at the door, he instantly crossed the distance in his room and swung open the door. Much to his relief, he was greeted with the sight of Naoko. He pursed his lips in confusion when he saw the sprint runner constantly running in place in front of him with a nervous look on his face.

"Thank god you answered, Leon." the ginger-headed teen let out a relieved yet frantic sigh, "I can't stand this silence from Monokuma. I hate to say this, but I'm going to go nuts if he doesn't say something soon. His lack of silence just reminds me how we've been cut off from everyone. Anyways, I'm trying to burn myself the only way I can. So do you want to head up to the third floor and do a few laps? I could really use the sprint and I feel a bit uneasy going alone."

Leon wasn't quite sure what kind of answer to give his friend. He could tell the teen definitely needed a distraction from his anxiety, but he didn't know why Naoko wanted to run with him. Recalling from last time, he knew the speedy sprint runner would easily leave him in the dust due to being faster than the average runner. But within only a few seconds, the red-headed teenager decided to accept the offer, believing it would provide a good distraction. He believed the more he kept his thoughts from circulating around the paranoid wait for Monokuma to act, the better.

Seeing his companion had accepted his offer, Naoko immediately dashed for the stairs, leaving Leon behind.  
The red-head sighed with the shake of his head before walking over to the stairs. Even if he tried running after his friend, he knew there would be no way he could catch up. So he believed it best to conserve his energy rather than quickly burn it out with an impossible task. It only took him a few minutes to finally reach the third floor. Once there, he managed to see Naoko quickly pass by him.

"Come on, Leon! I'm already on my fourth lap! You better start running if you want to catch up!" the sprint runner shouted before rounding the corner.

Deciding to honor his agreement, the baseball player took in a deep breath before he started running.  
The two teenagers sprinted at full speed, both able to quickly make laps around the room thanks to their talents. But no matter how fast Leon could run, Naoko still managed to remain the fastest. It wasn't long until the two finally slowed to a stop with their hands propped up on their knees while heavily panting.

"Damn, how did you even get so fast?" the red-head managed to gasp out, "I know you're like the Ultimate Sprint Runner, but still, you're crazy fast."

Naoko cracked a small grin at his friend, flattered by the compliment. Despite still trying to catch his breath, he began explaining the reason for his speed.

"Remember how I said I had depression problems? You know, back when I had accidentally triggered your panic attack." he began, pausing to see his companion nod in response before continuing, "Well running was a part of me trying to bury my negative feelings. It's true my mom had me recite the turtles rhyme whenever I was depressed, but that was only if I really broke down. Other times, whenever I felt sad, I just took off running as fast as I could."

He sighed in content as he could recall the feeling whenever he went on a run. He loved how running helped him feel free, like there was nothing wrong in the world. The moment he took off running, all of his cares would disappear and be forgotten to the point he would forget why he was even sad in the first place.

"I know now that I can't just run from my problems, this place taught me that lesson the hard way." he continued with his voice taking on a more somber tone, "But regardless, there's a part of me that just can't shove away the joy I feel when I run. Even if I tried to force myself to stop running and turn my attention to other ways I can deal with my depression, I know a part of me would still yearn to run. You get what I mean?"

Leon's eyes glanced downward as a guilty frown graced his lips. He didn't want to admit, but it was true, he completely understood the feeling. Even before he died, he could recall how when he tried to force himself to pursue the goal of becoming a musician for a punk band, there was a part of him that yearned to play baseball once more. It was fact he knew that went stretched on before he was forced to play Junko's deadly game. The memories of himself unintentionally speaking fond memories or even making comparisons to baseball with his friends were clear in his mind.

All this time, he had thought that he had chosen to continue playing baseball just to remind himself not to repeat mistakes. Yet he couldn't help but wonder, what was the excuse for his younger amnesiac self then. At that time, he knew he had no recollection of his previous life due to being so young. It was true his fear of baseballs being thrown at him still made him froze in fear due to his subconscious still remembering the execution, yet he couldn't remember hating baseball. Strangely enough, he remembered loving the sport as a child.

He was lost in his thoughts until he heard the sound of Naoko repeatedly calling out his name. His eyes snapped upward once more to see the ginger-headed teen staring at him in confusion.

"Were you even listening, you looked like you had spaced out for a bit. I asked if you were understanding what I was trying to explain." the nineteen year-old asked.

Leon sighed ins response, taking one of his hands to rub the back of his neck as he honestly answered "I think I do. I have tried to quit baseball in the past because I wanted to do more things like become a musician. But whenever I forced myself away from the sport, I found myself coming back to it. Maybe I don't hate it as much as I thought I did."

The moment the last words left his mouth, the sprint runner commented "A Musician? Jeez, you're starting to sound like Kazuo. Better not get yourself killed like him."

The teenager had meant for his comment to come off as a joke, but quickly realized his companion didn't appreciate it when he noticed his breath hitch and his body grow tense.

"I said something stupid again didn't I? Dang it, sorry." he mumbled in embarrassment, suddenly feeling very self-conscious, "Got to learn to stop doing that. So I guess I should change up the subject."

A small hum escaped his mouth as he tapped his foot in thought; his mind sorting through different discussions.

After a few minutes in thought, he snapped his finger as he said "Oh yeah, I almost forgot! So what was your reason for using Monokuma's previous motive? Monokuma said only five of us used the motive. Isamu told everyone she used the motive, we learned Seiichi and Hiroko used the motive in the trial, and I used the motive myself. I managed to bump into you when I dashed out of the Business Room, you wouldn't have been there if you weren't there to use the motive."

Leon couldn't help but raise a brow at the teen's deduction and curiosity. He didn't see anything wrong with explaining his reasons, but he had to wonder why his friend wish to discuss an event that had passed. No one else had got curious when it came to the previous motives. Usually he knew the others would try to leave the motives in the past they would like to forget because they only served as reminders for the ones that died. In the end though, he decided there was no harm to explain himself, considering it would only make him seems unintentionally suspicious if he remained quiet.

Only a hint of anger toward Monokuma seemed to linger in his voice as he talked about the situation about his mother. The nineteen year-old didn't even want to imagine how his mother had been experiencing heartbreak and misery for nearly two weeks now. At the end of his story, he glanced over at Naoko to see him frowning with sadness filling his eyes.

"So, you only wanted to check up on your mom. Yeah, same with me." Naoko began with his voice wavering slightly, "When I had asked about her, Monokuma told me she had collapsed recently. I kind of never knew my dad. From what I've been told, he was a deadbeat that ditched my mom the moment I was born. So it's just been me and her. So I really feel ya on being worried about your mom because she's single. My mom always wanted the best for me, so she worked multiple jobs just to insure I can get a good education. I knew she was getting sick from getting overworked. It's why I intended to attend Hope's Peak Academy the moment I was scouted. Hope's Peak would have paid for my education and guaranteed me a career in track and field, that way my mom wouldn't have to worry about me any more."

The baseball player didn't know how to respond as he stared his friend in shock. He had considered Monokuma had told the teen something horrible based on how pale his face was that day, but he never imagined the news would be so disheartening. It surprised him that the news didn't plunge the ginger-headed teen into so much despair that he would be driven to murder, which he knew ended up being the case with Seiichi instead.

"I can tell what you're thinking by the look on your face." Naoko spoke up, snapping Leon out of his thoughts, "You're wondering why I didn't become desperate enough to kill from hearing that news. Well to be honest... I did become that desperate."

He bit his lip hard with his body shuddering at the memory as he confessed "I... I tried to kill Shizko."

 _Naoko trembled with the survival knife clasped tightly in his hands. His yellow eyes were intensely focused on the door before him, hesitating about what he was about to do. All he wanted to do was escape at all costs, even if it meant taking a life. He kept reminding himself over and over again that he was committing murder for the sake of his mother as he slowly placed his hand on the doorknob. Much to his relief, the door was unlocked like he hoped before he opened it without a sound. In the room, he spotted Shizko silently working on one of her sculptures._

 _The sprint runner gulped nervously whilst closing the door behind him. He had hoped he wouldn't feel too guilty about killing the sculptor due to her heart illness, but he could still feel his heart pounding in fear at the thought of it. He took a few steps toward the teenage girl, readying his knife for the killing blow. But before he could even strike, his heart nearly stopped beating when he saw Shizko turn around to face him._

 _"I knew someone had came in here. I've worked in silence for so long that I can easily hear any sound that disturbs that silence. So I guess you used the motive and came here to kill me." she said with her eyes narrowed.  
_

 _Naoko clenched his teeth, nervous sweat managing to form on his brow._

 _"I'm sorry, I have to get out of here. I just have to. I thought we could work together to escape but that has only made things worse. This is the only way!" he exclaimed, trying to desperately reclaim his crumbling confidence._

 _He awaited for the teenage girl to give him a counter argument or even decide to fight back for her own sake, but that never happened. His brows furrowed together in confusion as he watched the silver-headed girl sigh before gently setting aside her sculpting tools and allowing her arms to rest by her sides._

 _He didn't understand what she was trying to do until the next words uttered from her mouth truly shocked him._

 _"If you truly think that, I won't stop you. I'm already dying. I made a promise to Kiyoshi to survive and escape with the others, but you insist that won't be the case. If killing is truly the only way, then do it." she said in a stern tone._

 _Naoko tightened his grip around the knife in uncertainty. Conflicted thoughts and feelings raced through his mind, some urging to take advantage of the situation while others begged him to turn back. He clenched his teeth as he tightly gripped Shizko's shoulder, steadying her body in order to stab the knife into her. He couldn't help but flinch when he noticed his companion didn't so much as twitch in fear while calmly starring at him with her icy-blue eyes. He couldn't stand to see his friend so accepting of death._

 _Unable to take it anymore, tears started flowing forth from his eyes. He broke down sobbing as he dropped the knife on the floor and collapsed to his knees. He continued to cry as Shizko knelt on the floor with him and carefully wrapped her arms around him, doing everything in her power to comfort him._

 _"Shh, it's alright. I had a feeling you didn't truly didn't think that way." she said in a soothing tone, "It's okay, we will get out of here. I know what you're feeling, I felt the same way after Kiyoshi died. It's okay."_

 _Naoko didn't respond, instead choosing to bury his face in the teenage girl's shoulder as he continued crying._

"She let me cry until I didn't have the energy to do so anymore and took me back to my room. I know I stated in the trial that the thought of killing never crossed my mind, but I was afraid if I told everyone that they would have been convinced that I did murder Hiroko and Hideaki. Shizko must have thought the same thing since she didn't mention it either when Seiichi tried to place the blame on me. I guess I can't completely hate Seiichi for what he tried to do. He had the same kind of thoughts running through his mind that drove him to killing both Hideaki and Hiroko." the ginger-headed teen finished with a depressed sigh.

Leon curled his hands into two fists as he took in a deep breath. He knew exactly how his companion felt from his own experience. He hated remembering his claims of self-defense before his execution, insisting he and his classmates were trapped in the game where it was either kill or be killed. Another furstrated sigh escape his mouth as he ran his hand through his hair, wishing that he had been like Naoko and stopped himself from killing Sayaka. Unfortunately for him, he fell victim to his fears and paranoia, allowing him to get executed in the end. With this in mind, a small relieved smile formed on his face whilst he gently patted the nineteen year-old on his shoulder.

"I think the thought might have crossed all of our minds at one point." the baseball player began, "I don't have to guess to know the guilt from the attempt must have been eating at you for a while, but the important thing is that you didn't go through with it. You managed to stop yourself. If you had went through with it, there's a huge chance you would have been caught and executed. It's like I told you before, don't let yourself suffer to the point you lose your life over it."

The ginger-headed teen raised his brow in intrigue. Once again he wondered what kind of depression the athlete experienced to gain such a view on life. It deeply confused him. To him, it almost sounded like if his friend had gained such depression from actually murdering someone in the past. He considered this possibility before quickly brushing it aside.

 _"There's no way Leon has killed someone before. I mean, if he did, wouldn't it make more sense for him to commit the first murder due to confidence that he could get away from it? Yeah, out of all the things Leon could be, a murderer isn't one of them."_ he thought to himself, unaware that his thoughts contradicted the truth.

Without another word, the two teenage boys decided to head downstairs. They weren't sure how much longer they would remain trapped in the factory, but despite that, they both shared a single goal. No matter what, they both intended to escape the killing game without resorting to murder. They didn't know how, but they were fully confident that they would escape Monokuma's killing game.


	25. Chapter 25 - Sparks Fly

Chapter 25

Another uneventful day passed by, causing the teens to grow more worried and some wonder if Monokuma's plan was to drive them to point of insanity in order to commit murder by remaining silent. Leon was in the basement once more, watching the video on the flash drive. His eyes were narrowed in focus as he carefully studied every detail of the video. He still didn't understand why Monokuma was nervous and angry of the idea of them finding the flash drive to the point he became enraged when Hiroko secretly stole it.

 _"There's got to be something. It just can't be that he grew worried about us learning that he had employees. There has to be something."_ he thought to himself.

He kept studying the video until he was startled by a voice. He quickly turned to see Hideyo with her arm propped up on the back of his chair and her purple eyes focused on the laptop screen.

"Hideyo, how long have you've stood there watching?" Leon asked in a confused tone, "I didn't even hear you come down the stairs."

The stunt actress simply shrugged her shoulders as she answered "You seem pretty drawn in by that video. In truth, I actually came down to watch it again as well. Monokuma has been so quiet, might as well do something to distract myself. Figured my experience as a stunt actress would come in handy."

The red-head jolted a bit in surprise as he watched the black-haired girl lean over his shoulder and replay the video. He didn't utter a single world as he stared up at his companion, noticing how her purple eyes were constantly darting in different directions as she studied the footage. Figuring it would be best not to disturb the girl's actions, he directed his attention back to the laptop. By the end of the video, he could hear Hideyo sigh loudly in his ear before feeling the weight on his shoulder lift away. He turned to see Hideyo with her arms folded across her chest and her eyes closed in thought.

"Well I can tell you one thing from watching the video again." the stunt actress started with a huff, "That guy must have a high tolerance for pain. Talking from experience here. Even with the bullets not being fired at any fatal areas until the very end, any regular person would have passed out from the pain. There's no doubt he's had experience dealing with such pain."

"You can tell all that just from studying the video and what do you mean 'Talking from experience.'?" Leon asked.

The black-haired teen took in a deep breath with her lips curved downward into a slight frown. Grabbing the hem of her tank top, she pulled it up slightly to reveal a series of scars on her stomach. Even though the scars carried memories of pain, she didn't even pause as she pointed to each scar and explained the experience behind them. She could clearly remember each memory for each scar; one she got from a motorcycle stunt while another she received during an intense action scene. Every single one of the scars held a different story, ones that she couldn't help but be proud of.

The teenage boy's eyes were as wide as saucers due to the shock of seeing the assortment of scars. It surprised him that Hideyo managed to gain so many scars from stunt acting yet continue with her career to the point she was recognized as an Ultimate. Unintentionally, an impressed whistle managed to escape his mouth. Only a few seconds passed before he realized what he had done. Out of fear of angering the nineteen year-old girl, Leon slapped his hand over his mouth. But much to his surprise, instead of being angry, he saw Hideyo started giggling.

"Your face just now, you're acting like I would be insulted. The memories I get from these scars are both good and bad. Stunt work isn't exactly the easiest thing in world, but I wouldn't have gotten as far as I did if I didn't love it. Guess you can say, I'm just in love with the adrenaline." Hideyo stated with a smile.

A small smile manage to form on Leon's face in response, unfortunately it immediately vanished when a familiar voice spoke up "Man, if you're so eager to know who the bozo in the video is, you could have just asked."

The two teens spun around to see Monokuma standing behind them. The bear seemed strangely calm with his paws intertwined behind his back and a mysterious glint in his eyes.

"Where have you've been the past few days, did it really anger you that much that we discovered what the object Hiroko stole from you was?" the stunt actress accused in a bitter tone.

"Of course I was freaking mad! It totally gives away who the Mastermind is! But I digress, that totally isn't the reason why I've been silent the past few days." the demented bear replied with the tilt of his head, "I've been mainly pondering to myself, considering my next course of action. In the end I decided, what's even the point of hiding my identity? You guys will just figure it out, which is why I decided to tell you exactly who the Mastermind behind this killing game is."

Both Hideyo and Leon were taken back by the robotic bear's words. It was hard to believe the Mastermind behind the deadly game suddenly decided to give up all because they had discovered the flash drive. Many thoughts ran through their minds as to what could be the bear's intentions until it was shattered by Monokuma uttering a single name; that name was Toshiro Riichi.

"What did you just say?" the black-haired girl stuttered with her face pale in shock.

In that instant, Monokuma waved his arms in the air out of frustration as he yelled "Jeez! I tell you the Mastermind's identity and that's your reaction?! I said Toshiro Riichi is the Mastermind behind the killing game! You know, the same guy that gushes over the executions except for the one in the video that clearly gives a huge hint to the Mastermind's identity! The execution was shot like a movie for Pete's sake!"

Leon bit his lip out of uncertainty. While many facts did line up, he couldn't bring himself to believe that Toshiro is truly the Mastermind. To him, it didn't make sense for the Mastermind to reveal themselves, considering it the equivalent of painting a target on their head. It didn't make sense to him for the one responsible for the killing game to do something that could risk everything to come to a screeching halt. If there was no Mastermind, the there would no longer be any killing game. Unfortunately, while his train of thought made sense for him, he easily noticed that Hideyo did not share those thoughts.

His pale-blue eyes glanced over at the teenage girl, seeing the expression of rage and betrayal painted on her face. He had acknowledged the growing tension between the stunt actress and the director with the occasional hateful glares, threats, words shared between the two. Tension that had gotten worse over the past two weeks of their imprisonment. There was no doubt in the red-head's mind; this suspicious revelation would be the final straw. Worry coursed throughout his mind as he watched the teenage girl storm out of the basement, unsure of the thoughts running through her mind.

"Well, I say she took that news well. Puhuhu!" Monokuma snickered in delight.

Upon hearing the bear's voice, Leon spun toward the robot with a hateful glare and his teeth clenched tightly.

"There's no freaking way Toshiro is controlling you. Why would the Mastermind risk themselves getting killed? If anything, you're just watching from the sidelines like Junko Enoshima." he snarled.

The black and white bear slowly turned toward the nineteen year-old; his red eye glowing ominously.

"You're right about one thing, Toshiro Riichi isn't the Mastermind. I said that to get Ms. Anger Issues flustered." the demented bear taunted with a sly smile, "You'd have to be like extremely dense to not know she's got it out for director boy. It'll be amazing if I can spark a conflict between those two, especially if it results in yet another murder. But you're wrong if you think the Mastermind isn't one of the participants, I've been a potential player since the very beginning."

"You're feeling pretty confident by telling me all this. What's going to stop me from telling the others of your little scheme?" Leon asked.

But the moment those words left his mouth, fear began to stir into the pit of his stomach. The confidence he felt moments ago was immediately washed away by regret, making him wish he had never questioned the bear. His worry only grew when the sound of Monokuma's snickers reached his ears.

"Oh, so you want to play like that. Well how about this?" Monokuma began in his typical sly yet threatening tone, "You stay quiet about this little exchange and I won't tell the others that they have a murderer among their ranks. Isn't that right, Leon Saisei? Though in hindsight, maybe it would be better to address you by your real name. Right, Leon Kuwata?"

The red-head's face turned pale as he felt like his entire world had come to a screeching halt. Monokuma's taunts seemed to fill his mind as the bear explained how he decided to look back on his books concerning Hope's Peak Academy's killing game in order to finally learn why he was so familiar.  
The psychotic bear was amused to see how petrified the teen before him was. He found it satisfying when all the questions in his mind concerning the mysterious teenager finally disappeared when he compared the facts. The only question remaining in his mind was how the teen was even there in the first place, but he chose to ignore that curiosity.

Leon swallowed hard as he began weighing his options. He wanted to prevent his friends from falling into Monokuma's trap, but he didn't know if they would trust him if they learned of his true identity. He knew Hiroko had taken the discovery very well, but she was the more calm and reasonable out of the group. With most of the peacemakers of the group gone, the nineteen year-old knew he would be dealing with seven paranoid and frightened teenagers. He hated to admit it, but he couldn't risk letting the others know of the truth; at least not while they were still scared out of their minds.

With a sigh of frustration, both toward himself and Monokuma, the baseball player finally replied "Fine, you win. I won't tell the others about this discussion."

"There's a good murderous baseball player mysteriously back from the dead!" the bear replied in a delighted tone, purposely choosing words to further anger the red-headed teen, "Just keep being a good participant and I won't tell your little friends about your secret. Hey, maybe if you're good enough, I'll insure that you'll actually survive this killing game! Puhuhu!"

The nineteen year-old did not respond, instead choosing to snarl as he could taste bitter hatred on his tongue. He no longer feared Monokuma, his paranoia of the bear deciding to kill him was long gone. All that remained was hatred for both the robotic bear and the Mastermind controlling it. Without any words, the teenager started to make his way to the stairway.

He was about to leave, until he was stopped by Monokuma commenting in a venomous tone "Consider this payback for peeking at that flash drive too early."

 _"Wait, too early?"_ Leon thought to himself out of confusion, _"That means he intended to show us all along, but why would he want to do that?"  
_

Unable to come up with a possible reason at the moment with the frustration of Monokuma's blackmail still bubbling in his head, the teen left the basement with the bear's laughter filling the air. Unfortunately, his troubles did not end there. The moment he finally reached the first floor of the factory, he was greeted with the sight of a large argument. He saw Isas standing in front of Toshiro who was angrily yelling at Hideyo while the stunt actress herself was having to be held back by Shizko and Naoko. On the sidelines, he noticed Isamu and Mineko watching with faces full of concern.

"Mastermind?! Hideyo, you've accused me of many things but this is the last straw! I would have to be a nutcase to want this killing game!" Toshiro yelled.

"Stop lying you piece of scum!" Hideyo snarled whilst trying to free herself of her companions' grip, "You confessed to everything as Monokuma! Besides, even without that confession, everything lines up. Every single time one of our friends was executed, you were the only one who took delight in it with your whole 'creativity' crap! Not to mention, we know the mastermind had researched Hope's Peak Academy. You seemed to know an awfully a lot about the first murder during Seiichi's trial."

Toshiro bit his lip as his eyes darted in different directions out of nervousness. He couldn't believe Hideyo was accusing him of being the one responsible for the deadly game the were forced to play.

"You're just like everyone else." the brown-headed teen tried to sound angry but the tremble in his voice revealed his fear, "You think all because I kept commenting on the creativity of the executions, that I enjoyed them. I told you multiple times that I didn't enjoy them, I was downright horrified by them. I don't get it. I embrace the image the public built up of me, yet I'm still hated. People only want to see the spectacle right? They don't care about the love and care you pour into emotional stories, no they rather see things blow up! So why am I still hated?!"

Isas let out an audible sigh as he listened to the two teens argue back and forth, wishing that Hisoka and Seiichi were still alive to help maintain peace in the group. His eyes began to wander, glancing at everyone until his sights stopped on Leon. His brow raised in confusion when he saw the teenager silently standing in the stairway with a guilty expression painted on his face. He recalled the last time a fight broke out between Toshiro and Hideyo, the baseball player had immediately rushed to his aid to end the fight. Yet this time, he saw the nineteen year-old was choosing to standby and watch.

He was confused until he felt something hard collide into his chest. The black-haired teenage boy's heart nearly stopped when he saw that Hideyo had broken free of her friends' grip and was now trying to shove him out of the way in order to reach the nineteen year-old she had come to despise. Isas tightly clenched his teeth as he steadied his footing, refusing to let the teenage girl knock him down. Risking a glance at the director he was trying to protect from the stunt actress' wrath, he looked back at the brown-headed teen to see him pressed against the wall in fear.

Directing his attention back to Hideyo, he quickly muttered out an apology before grabbing firmly a hold of her shoulders and smashing his forehead against hers. In that instant, he felt the stunt actress fall limp in his arms.

"Holy crap, Isas! Why did you do that?! Hideyo is going to murder you when she wakes up!" Naoko exclaimed.

"Out of all the words you could have used, you had to pick the worst one! Please don't mention murder while we're still stuck in Toshiro's game!" Shizko snapped.

The moment those words left the sculptor's mouth, Toshiro stared in shock as he stuttered "Y-You think I-I'm the Mastermind t-too?"

The silver-headed teen fell silent whilst glancing down at the floor. She hadn't meant for that comment to slip out, but she didn't see anyone else that could fit the role of the Mastermind. The thought of the director creating the killing game made her sick, especially when the killing game claimed Kiyoshi's life. Her body tensed as she tried to banish any murderous thoughts of revenge from her mind, remembering the promise she made with her deceased friend. After taking a few seconds to calm herself down, Shizko reopened her eyes to see her companions all silently standing in the hallway.

Silence lingered in the air until it was shattered by Isas speaking up, announcing that he planned to take both Hideyo and Toshiro to his room to calmly discuss things. The group of teens was shocked by the racer's announcement, but didn't attempt to stop him. With silence filling the air once more, the teenage boy hefted the unconscious stunt actress onto his shoulder before grabbing a hold of the director's wrist and walking down the hallway.

Once the three teens were out of sight, Isamu asked in a nervous tone "Was Hideyo truly right in claiming that Toshiro is the Mastermind? I know he's made all those nasty comments in the past, but he's never tried to kill anyone or provoked anyone into killing. He was even willing to help us in the previous trial."

"That's true, but it doesn't exactly prove his innocence either." Shizko replied with a sigh, "The Mastermind would want the killing game continue since, much like Junko Enoshima, considers an ending that results in all of us being killed at once as a boring one. So of course Toshiro would want to contribute to the trial in that sense. As for not provoking us to murder, Toshiro would have Monokuma for that as doing it himself would be a dead giveaway to his identity. Finally he wouldn't attempt to murder anyone since that would only result in his death if he's discovered and the killing game would come to an end."

Leon couldn't bare to listen to his companions discuss what he knew to be a false fact. His fingers dug tightly into the palm of his hands, trying to resist the urge to start screaming. He desperately wanted to tell his friends the truth, tell them what Monokuma had revealed to him. But with the bear's blackmail still lingering over his head concerning his identity, he had no choice but to remain silent. No matter how much it pained him to do so.


	26. Chapter 26 - Blackout

Chapter 26

"So what's the plan now?" Naoko asked while glancing at the four remaining teens in the hallway with him.

Everyone but Leon was unsure exactly how to respond after Hideyo shouted claims of Monokuma confessing to be secretly Toshiro. The revelation seemed to make perfect sense, yet come off as confusing at the same time.

"Well, acting like nothing has happened is out of the question." Shizko replied while letting out an exhausted huff, "There's no way I can rest easy even with the smallest chance of Toshiro being the Mastermind. Whether it's true or not, this will have an effect on all of us. I just know this, if Toshiro is the Mastermind, I will never forgive him for killing Kiyoshi."

Without another word, the silver-headed teen walked away, making her way back to her room.  
Leon watched silently as the teens left the hallway one by one, growing more frustrated at his forced silence. Within a few seconds, he saw the only one left was a worried Isamu. He frowned when he noticed the robotics expert was nervously shuffling her feet while biting her finger. He knew the Hideyo's claims, though in reality are false, unnerved the remaining participants in the killing game.

He remained lost in his thoughts until he heard Isamu speak up "Oh, Leon, you're still here."

His pale-blue eyes glanced up to see the blonde-headed girl staring at him with her hand tightly grasping her arm.

"You think you can go with me to check up on Isas? I...I don't really feel comfortable walking alone right now." she muttered in a quiet voice.

Leon simply nodded his head in reply, unable to find the urge to speak up. Silently he began walking down the hallway with Isamu. A frustrated breath escaped his mouth as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. He could easily feel the tension in the air and the distrust dwelling inside of each of his companions. The fake revelation of Toshiro being the Mastermind had sent them all into disarray, just like Monokuma wanted. He glanced over at Isamu to see her eyes filled with doubt. The baseball player opened his mouth, considering attempting to strike up a conversation, but immediately closed it due to being unable to come up with a conversation starter.

It wasn't long till the two teens found themselves in front of the door to Isas' room. The red-head didn't utter a single word as he watched Isamu rest her hand of the doorknob whilst taking a deep breath. Only a few seconds passed by until the door was swung open. Inside the room, Leon was greeted with the sight of Toshiro and a now awake Hideyo sitting on opposite sides of the room with Isas acting as a divider by sitting in a chair in the middle of the room.  
The race car driver hadn't even noticed the arrival of his two friends until he heard the sound of his room door close.

"Leon? Isamu? What are the two of you doing here?" he asked.

"I wanted to make sure if everything was alright, so I asked Leon to come with me while I came to check up on you. I felt it wouldn't be wise to walk around alone until everything is settled." Isamu replied with a small smile.

Isas couldn't help but smile back, touched by the teenage girl's concern. Over the course of two weeks, his feelings for her had constantly grown. It surprised him that he ended up finding love, especially in such a terrible scenario. Directing his thoughts back to the present, he sighed, taking quick glances before turning back toward Leon and Isamu. He voiced his frustration as he stated how the two teens refused to budge on their stances, Hideyo constantly accusing Toshiro of being the Mastermind while the director constantly denied it.

"I was hoping they could talk things out. I know for certain I'm not letting either of them leave this room until things get straightened out. If there's anything I've learned from growing up, sometimes you have to knuckle down in order to get results." the black-haired teen confessed while rubbing the back of his neck, "Though at this rate, we'll be here all night."

"That's what I like about you, Isas. Always taking charge like a good leader. Makes you so dashing and mature." the robotics expert giggled in reply.

"You two are aware other people are in the room." Toshiro commented, prompting both Isas and Hideyo to shoot a glare toward him.

Shifting his attention away from the arrogant director, Isas laughed as he admitted to not being surprised about being called mature. The reason simply because was that he viewed himself as mature. For as long as he could remember, his family suffered the aftereffects of the Tragedy, resulting in them suffering from money problems. The racer recalled how he and his younger brother were forced to mature at a young age, helping provide money by working at a car mechanic shop. It was there where he slowly gained interest in becoming a race car driver.

The memory was still clear in his mind, young men and women often entering the shop and requesting tuneups in order to prepare for an upcoming race. Out of curiosity, he and his brother had snuck away from work one day to take a peek at the racers that intrigued their interest. A small chuckle escaped his mouth as he fondly remembered the excitement and wonder that filled his eyes when he saw the cars racing around the track, amazed at all the maneuvers the racers were pulling off inside their cars. From that day on, he and brother made a deal to work hard in order to become the racer and mechanic duo.

He momentarily paused in his reminiscing; his gray eyes lifted up to see Isamu with a wide smile of admiration and Leon staring at him with a raised brow. Isas couldn't help but laugh slightly at the sight, glad he had caught his friends' interest. He continued on to explain how working in the mechanical field helped him know the inner workings of a car by heart and in turn learn the best techniques that utilize all the car's working parts. He had entered his first race at the age of sixteen, quickly gathering attention around his skills.

"Next thing I know people were asking me to be race for them in exchange for big time cash. For the sake of my family, I agreed, even made sure my little brother tagged along." Isas finished with a smile, "I became so good, I was recruited in Hope's Peak Academy, which I happily accepted. Let me tell you, it was scary the first year being surrounded by Ultimates, but over time I grew comfortable. Just wish my brother was recognized as the Ultimate Mechanic so he could attend with me, but sadly my status as a racer overshadowed him."

"Wait, you're a Hope's Peak Academy student?!" Leon exclaimed, "As in, not just recruited by them, you actually got to attend?!"

Upon hearing his friend's exclamation, the black-haired teenage boy grinned nervously as he replied "I suppose it never crossed my mind to mention it considering the chaos over the past two weeks. But yeah, I had attended Hope's Peak for two years. I had just started my third year around when those men in black nabbed me."

The baseball player fell silent at the nineteen year-old's words. All this time he had assumed his companions had only been recruited, either preparing for a third year transfer or rejecting the offer. He had never imagined one of them would turn out to actually have already attended Hope's Peak Academy.

Growing a bit worried at the red-head's silence Isas asked "Leon, is everything alright?"

The moment he heard the teenager's concern, Leon rapidly shook his head before replying "Yeah, just surprised is all."

Unfortunately, before anyone could say anything else, Hideyo snapped "If you're done chatting, I would like to leave now. I refuse to be in the same room with this killer."

Toshiro snarled back at the teenage girl, growing more angry with each second that stunt actress continued to accuse him of being the Mastermind. In mere seconds, he began screaming a series of anger filled insults toward the teenage girl, prompting her to scream back.  
Isas sighed whilst rubbing his gloved hands against the temple of his forehead, growing tired of the two's arguments. But for the sake of his friends, he chose to endure such arguments. He took one last glance at Isamu and Leon, advising them both to leave to spare themselves of the headache caused by the two teens' bickering.

With that said, another exhausted sigh escaped his mouth as he allowed his head to rest in his hand.  
Isamu frowned at the sight the boy she had a crush on was reduced to. It only made her wish the killing game was finally over so the teenage racer would finally be spared of the stress the game had brought upon in. Though reluctant to leave the nineteen year-old alone with the two angry Ultimates, the robotics expert nodded her head in understanding before leaving the room with Leon.

Sadness seemed to dwell in her aqua eyes whilst she glanced up at her red-headed companion, only managing to utter a single thank you. Not another word managed to escape her mouth as she began to the trek to her room alone. She knew it wasn't wise to walk the hallways alone during such a stressful time, but for the moment, she wished to be alone.

"Everything really has gone to crap and I can't even stop it." Leon muttered bitterly to himself, "Damn Monokuma. It's not my fault that I can't tell them!"

 _"You had any number of chances to stop what you were doing, but chose not to."_ Celeste's words suddenly mocked him in his head.

He began to breath heavily with his fingers digging into his hair; his eyes squeezed shut and his teeth tightly clenched.

 _"Son of a bitch...! What the hell is wrong with you!?"_ Mondo's voice chimed in as well.

His body slid to the floor as his breath quickened to the point he began hyperventilating.

 _"Leon, did you really..."_ chimed in the final voice belonging to Makoto.

The red-head's body began shuddering to the point he hadn't realized that tears were streaming down his face. He couldn't help but hate himself; hate that he was allowing his friends to suffer, hate that he stood by as his friends were executed, hate that he gave into his fears and killed Sayaka. But because he was suffering from his panic attack, he failed to see a figure slowly approach him. He didn't know they were there until suddenly he felt something cold grasp his hands. He tilted his head up and opened his eyes slightly, only to find himself staring into kind and concerned blue eyes.

A shuddered breath escaped his mouth as he squeezed his eyes shut again. He didn't know who had a hold of him, but he hated that he was seemingly seeing hauntingly familiar blue eyes. He didn't bother to reopen his eyes as he felt the figure help him back to his feet and sling one of his arms over their shoulder. With his eyes firmly shut, he had no idea where the figure was taking him as he felt his feet began walking at a slow yet steady pace. It seemed like ages he continued walking until he finally heard a door open.

Once again, Leon opened his eyes to see the figure had taken him back to his room. He groaned as he started to pull off his jacket and shirt, feeling the urge to sleep both out of exhaustion and a need to escape stress. He didn't bother looking back at the figure who had lead him to his room, only hearing the sound of the door closing behind him. With a tired sigh escaping his mouth, he flopped down onto his bed and let his eyes close one last time. But the moment he slipped into slumber, he found himself dreaming of a fond memory consisting of Sayaka smiling at him with his arm slung over her shoulder as she helped him back to his dorm room after a tiring session of baseball practice.

Later that night, Leon awoke to the sound of panicked yells. His eyes immediately snapped open only to find himself staring at pitch black darkness. His brows furrowed together in confusion, wondering why his room was so dark. Normally the room would have lights on at all times so the cameras could capture footage of the room, yet strangely they were off. Growing more concerned about the panicked yells, the teenager used his hands to feel along the wall and make his way to the door. Within seconds, he managed to reach the door.

But the moment he opened the door, he felt something hard collide with his chest. He was confused until he felt a pair of arms cling onto him as if for dear life and the sound of a feminine voice whimpering and crying. Trying to figure out who had a hold of him, he took his freehand and felt along the figure's head. He kept feeling until his eyes widened upon feeling a certain headband.

Making sure he was correct with his assumption, Leon quietly whispered "Mineko?"

Instead of giving a response, he felt the girl tighten her grip as she buried her face into his chest. Despite being unable to see it, the teenage could feel his cheeks burning from brightly blushing. While he understood that Mineko couldn't see that he wasn't wearing a shirt due to the dark, it still didn't make him any less embarrassed by it. Seeing nothing else he could do, he began stroking the back of her head and giving her constant reinsurance to calm her down.

 _"She's scared to death and in response is clinging to me like I'm her only lifeline."_ Leon thought to himself, _"Kind of similar how she acted in the basement. I should probably help her calm down. She's helped me during my panic attacks, I might as well return the favor."_

Unable to find his chair in the dark with Mineko still clinging tightly onto him, he used his remaining freehand to guide himself back to his bed and sit on top of it. A small hiss escaped his mouth when he felt the music composer's nails dig into his bare skin.

"Hey, no need to claw me up. I'm here, you're okay." he quickly stated in an attempt to comfort the teenage girl.

Much to his relief, he felt her grip loosening while only her frightened whimpers and shudders remain.

Desperately searching his mind for ways to calm his companion, Leon suggested "Mineko, tell me a few things about yourself. Why did you become a music composer?"

Mineko weakly nodded her head before explaining her love for composing music. She recounted how she found herself drawn to music since a young age. With her hearing being more high tuned than a normal human's she was more sensitive to certain sounds, especially loud ones. She couldn't help but flinch or slap her hands over her ears in response whenever she heard a loud noise, but it was different when she heard music. It's started with her mother's weekly sessions of violin playing. She found herself drawn to the beautiful melody, her hearing managed to pick out each melodious note.

Eager to hear more wonderful music, she began attending music concerts and orchestras. The more she listened, the more she began to determine which notes were more melodious than others. Her shudders lessened when she finally recalled the day she had discovered her talent. She was at the age of fourteen and noticed a few other kids trying to put together a band. The music had sounded out of tune with the notes clashing together. That day, she had decided to offer her help to gain a more melodious tone to listen to.

"They were so impressed, I wasn't expecting any kind of compliments. I just wanted to help out." Mineko confessed in a shaky tone, "Soon enough, more and more people approached me with requests to compose music for them. One of them even being when I got a little too excited and caused the school band to fall behind in their studies. Everyone was so impressed that I was eventually declared an Ultimate and recruited by Hope's Peak Academy like everyone here. I hadn't given them an answer yet though, I would feel a bit bad about leaving my friends at school behind, but it would be a great opportunity."

Leon let out a sigh of relief as he felt the the girl's shaking lessening more and more.

"Then again, I made friends in here too. I may have lost seven of them over the course of two weeks, but I'm still happy to have met everyone. If we all get out of here and you all decide to transfer, then maybe I..." Mineko tried to finish, but her words slipped away as her eyes slowly close and she slipped away into slumber.

"Well this is just great, the one time I don't want a girl asleep on my lap." the red-head muttered to himself, "Well can't exactly kick her out now and it's already been established that it's not against the rules to sleep in someone else's room."

Seeing no other choice, the nineteen year-old made sure not to disturb the music composer as he pushed his body against the wall. Trying to get as comfortable as he could in a sitting position, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Within seconds, he drifted back into slumber once more.

The next day, Leon found himself awakened by the sound of loud knocking on his door. He grunted as he slowly opened his eyes, barely acknowledging the shifting on his lap. He tried getting a grasp of his blurry surroundings until he heard a yelp and a loud thud. Rapidly blinking his eyes, he looked down to see Mineko had fallen backwards onto the floor with her face redder than his hair.

"Why was I... and you... did I?!" the light-brown headed teen spluttered out, too flustered to form a proper sentence.

Instantly realizing why the teenager was flustered, Leon immediately explained "It was nothing like that! I heard yells last night and you happened collide into me and hold on tight. You seemed pretty panicked, so I helped you calm down. Shortly after that, you fell asleep in my lap. As for my lack of a shirt, I normally take it off since otherwise I would be uncomfortable in my sleep."

"Oh. That's a relief. Not that I wouldn't want to do something like that... I mean... you are pretty hot. Did I say hot?! I mean you're not hot! What am I saying? God this is your fault you jerk, got me all flustered for nothing!" Mineko exclaimed in reply before she buried her still burning red face in her hands.

Leon rolled his eyes before putting back on his shirt and jacket. Without a word, he headed over to the door and opened it up. The moment he did this, he was greeted with sight of a panicked Isas.

"Leon, Hideyo and Toshiro are missing! They took advantage of the blackout in the middle of the night and escaped my room. It was so pitch dark, and the lights weren't coming back on. I had to wait to search for them till morning, but I can't find them anywhere. I'm worried that Hideyo might have pulled a desperate situation to end the killing game." the racer stated in frantic breaths.

Knowing the situation was dire, the baseball player darted out of his room, leaving behind a confused Isas who saw Mineko walk up to the doorway. Running as fast as he could, he searched every room he could think of, all the way from the lunchroom to the shower rooms. But no matter where he looked, he didn't see any sign of Toshiro nor Hideyo. It wasn't long to he managed to meet up with the rest of his companions in the hallway.

"We searched everywhere!" Naoko panted with his hands on his knees.

"Not everywhere, we still haven't searched the basement!" Shizko pointed out.

Wasting no time, the group of teens quickly dashed for the stairway. Only the sound of stomping filled the air as they made their way down the steps as fast as they could. Within a few seconds, they managed to reach the entrance to the basement. Remembering where the light switch was, Isas ran over to the far side of the wall and flipped the switch. The lights flickered on, lighting up the dark basement. But once they did, they revealed a horrible sight. Lying on the floor with limbs sprawled in awkward directions and blood dripping from the mouth was the lifeless body of Hideyo Rei.

 **Killing Game Students - 7 Remain**


	27. Chapter 27 - Unsolvable Death

Chapter 27

Leon's eyes were wide in shock and confusion. A moment ago he and his companions were fearing that Hideyo had took drastic actions to end the killing game and they would find Toshiro's lifeless body. Instead they were greeted with the deceased stunt actress herself with the arrogant director nowhere in sight. He watched as Isas knelt down next to Hideyo's body and picked up her wrist in order to make sure they weren't jumping to conclusions. But he could tell this wasn't the case, immediately noticing the racer's expression of sadness before gently lowering the wrist back to the ground.

All of the sudden, a blaring alarm followed by a message the remaining participants had grown familiar with filled the air. Leon clenched his fist as a shaky breath managed to escape his mouth. Once again they were being forced to go through a routine they know by heart; investigate the murder, find the culprit in the trial, and sentence another friend to their death. Anger and regret boiled in the teen's mind until he heard the laughter he expected to reach his ears. But the moment he turned toward the sound of the laughter, he was shocked at the sight that lay before him. Standing next to a smug Monokuma was none other than Toshiro.

"Toshiro?! Where have you've been and why are you with Monokuma?" Isamu questioned with a frown.

A smug grin formed on the director's face as he planted his hands on his hips, almost to mirror the near identical pose Junko Enoshima often struck. There seemed to be a crazed look in his eyes as an almost maniacal laughter rumbled from his throat.

"The Mastermind has been revealed, so what's the point of hiding behind the bear anymore?" he replied.

At that moment, everyone in the room was struck with confusion. Leon was especially confused by Toshiro's words. When Monokuma first revealed the knowledge concerning his identity, the condition was that he remain quiet and not tell everyone that Toshiro wasn't truly the Mastermind. Yet now here was the director claiming otherwise. In the baseball player's mind, it didn't make sense, especially after Toshiro denied it so many times. Then there was the question as to why Monokuma was playing along with Toshiro's claims.

 _"A murder has already happened just like Monokuma had hoped with his fake confession. It just doesn't make sense for him to continue the act. What is he trying to do?"_ he thought to himself.

Unfortunately he didn't get to think about it for long when he noticed the brown-headed teen turn toward the robotic bear.

"There's no need for you right now." the nineteen year-old said with a bit of a hum, "I'll be taking it from here."

Without a word, Monokuma nodded his head before leaving the basement.  
Once the demented bear was gone, Toshiro turned toward his companions with his grin never leaving his face. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his monopad. It only took the teen a few seconds to pull up the Monokuma Files as he began reading out loud for his companions to hear.  
Leon firmly crossed his arms as the contents of the Monokuma File was revealed to him.

According to the file, Hideyo Rei was murdered around midnight, the time of the blackout. Leon's eyes narrowed upon hearing this. It was easy to guess that the murder took place during the blackout, especially since Hideyo and Toshiro were locked away in Isas's room until the blackout occurred. But if the time of the murder was listed on the file, the red-head knew this meant Monokuma didn't consider it a crucial clue to the culprit's identity. Decided to push aside the time of the murder for the moment, he continued to listen to the rest of Toshiro's reading.

His brow raised in surprise when the file had revealed that Hideyo's death was actually due to a broken neck. It seemed incredible ironic that a teenage girl who was skilled to handle the most intense stunts to the point she became recognized as an Ultimate ended up dying from a broken neck. No other injuries were found on her body aside from a few bruises, indicating that she had been in a scuffle before she dead. Leon sighed as he awaited more info from Toshiro from the murder, but much to his shock, the director had already put away his monopad.

"What?! That's it?!" Naoko exclaimed in shock, "How is that suppose to help us solve the murder?"

"We don't need evidence, Naoko." Shizko replied as she glared hatefully at Toshiro, "It's obvious that he's Hideyo's murderer."

Instead of responding to the teenage girl's comment, the director simply raised a brow with his hands clasped behind his back. A strange yet almost calculated glint shined in his eyes, never breaking eye contact with the sculptor as he sat down on one of the steps.

"Well you know the rules, better get searching for clues unless you want to go into the trial blind. I may be the Mastermind, but I'm still a participant. So don't be afraid to approach me with any questions." he said.

Leon rubbed the back of his neck before reluctantly tearing his gaze away from the brown-headed teen in order to search for clues. He didn't know why, but he found the director's attitude to be be strangely out of character. In the past, he knew the brown-headed teen never expressed such levels of malice, even when expressing his eagerness to see the class trials. Something seemed off and he didn't think it was just because of Toshiro's out of nowhere decision to embrace the claim of being the Mastermind. Knowing he couldn't afford to waste time trying to solve the puzzling actions of the young director at the moment, he started examining the shelves for clues.

His pale-blue eyes carefully studied each detail, unable to note anything out of the ordinary. Leon pursed his lips as he studied the shelves one more time. It was a bit concerning to see no signs of a struggle while there were clear signs of one by the bruises on Hideyo's body. He was about to give up his search until something caught his eye. In the corner of the basement, not too far away from Hideyo's body, was a brown bag. The red-head immediately recognized it as the bag with the tool kit and survival knife that they had been given at the beginning of the killing game.

Curious as to why it was stuffed in the corner, he picked the bag up, only to find it nearly empty. Deciding to search the bag for the remaining contents, he opened it up and reached inside. Most of the tools from the tool kit was gone, but among the items still in the bag was a clean survival knife.

 _"Doesn't look like the knife was cleaned so it's safe to assume it wasn't used."_ the baseball player concluded in his mind.

But despite knowing that, the question as to the bag's presence still remained in his mind. He glanced over to Hideyo's body, noticing the bag wasn't too far away from one of her legs.

He didn't understand the meaning for this and was unable to come up with one when his thought process was interrupted by Isas speaking up "Leon, come over and check this out."

The red-head turned his head toward the racer to see him still kneeling down next to the lifeless girl's body. Figuring he might as well check out what his friend wished to discuss, he walked over and knelt down on the floor next to him.

"So I've been suspicious about the position we found Hideyo's body in." the racer started in a stern tone, "Her arms and legs are spread and bent in awkward positions. It's unnatural, even for someone who had their neck broken. Had only her neck been broken, the position of her arms and legs would have been relatively close to her body."

Leon couldn't help but nod his head in agreement. The position they found Hideyo's body in was certainly a strange one. When he looked at it closely, it almost seemed like she had fallen from somewhere. At that moment, the teen gasped as an idea entered his mind. It suddenly made sense why there was no signs of a struggle in the basement.

"Isas, I think I know how her neck got broken, but I need to check the stairs to be certain." he stated.

Understanding his friend's thought process, Isas nodded his head in understand before standing back up.  
Without a word, the two teenage boys left the basement, cautiously walking past the director who remained seated on the stairs. But as they ascended the stairs, details they failed to notice during their scattered frenzy caught their attention. Scattered on the steps were some of the tools from the brown bag, laying in all sorts of directions, almost as if they were spilt. The two continued to ascend until, near the top of the staircase, on one of the steps was a bit of blood.

Leon leaned down closer to the step in order to study the bloodstain. While he wasn't an expert at examining bloodstains like Hideaki was, he was able to at least pick up the basic details. He noticed the bloodstain was dry and splattered, like it was violently coughed up from someone's mouth. Wordlessly, the baseball player sighed as he got back up to his feet.

"I think that pretty much confirms it. Hideyo's death wasn't as simple as someone breaking her neck. From what I can tell, the reason for Hideyo's body being the position it was because she had tripped over the bag full of supplies. The first step her head hit broke her neck instantly, causing her to cough up that blood from the force of the impact. That explains the blood coming from her mouth. But by the time her body reached the bottom of the stairs, she was already dead." he explained.

Isas's brows furrowed as he crossed his arms. While he considered it helpful to finally know exactly how Hideyo died, the question still remained to as who killed her. He knew they couldn't use the bag as evidence to point toward the culprit's identity because Monokuma had given them all bags exactly like that one. With no evidence to go off of, he knew they had no choice but turn toward alibis for the night of Hideyo's death. As he made his way back down the stairs with Leon, he could only hope that one of his companions held the key to exposing the murderer.

The baseball player didn't share anymore words with his companions as he made his way back down to the basement; his mind too focused on the many questions that filled his mind. He was about to pay no mind to Toshiro as he passed by him once more until something catch his eyes. From the corner of his eye, he could see the director was preoccupied with his wrist. He turned his head to get a better look to find the director fiddling with white bandages that had been wrapped firmly around his wrist.

"Toshiro, you're hurt?" Leon immediately question, prompting the brown-headed teen's head to jolt up in surprise.

"Er yes, but it's nothing of concern. Had a little trouble during the blackout and got hurt. That is all." Toshiro replied as he tugged the sleeve of his brown jacket over his wrist, hiding the bandages away from view.

The athlete raised his brow in suspicion at the teenager. Not only did he not buy the excuse given to him, but he noticed the teen's previous demented nature he had put on for the others was missing. This unfortunately raised even more questions for him, making him wish he could even peer inside that mind that is Toshiro Riichi. But as much as he wanted answers, he knew the more important issue was still solving Hideyo's murder. So once again, he was forced to push aside his puzzlement concerning the arrogant teenage.

With no other clues to go off of, Leon began asking his companions for their alibis for the night in hopes of narrowing down the list of suspects. But as he listened to each alibi, a frown of worry formed on his face.  
Isamu claimed to have been in her room during the blackout. Shizko claimed to be on the third floor searching for more clues to confirm if Toshrio was truly the Mastermind. Naoko claimed that he was running laps in the main factory room. Isas' claim remained the same that he had decided to wait in his room till morning to search for the missing Toshrio and Hideyo at the time. None of them had alblis for the murder. The only one being the closest to having one was Mineko.

"So in other words, only Mineko and Leon have alibis?!" Naoko exclaimed nervously, having heard everyone's alibis, "Then that means everyone else is suspicious. Anyone of us could have killed Hideyo."

"For the last time, it had to be Toshiro. He was with Hideyo during the blackout and would be the only one to have a reason to murder her. I admit, all of us have considered murder at some point after hearing Hideyo's claims. But those thoughts were toward Toshiro, not Hideyo!" Shizko retorted.

Toshiro couldn't help but flinch a bit the moment Shizko uttered those words. He didn't want to admit it, but it unnerved him to learn each of his companions had considered killing him at some point.

"Shizko, the last thing is that we want is to throw claims around. I know you're still hurting from the possibility that Toshiro could be the one responsible for Kiyoshi being executed, but remember Kiyoshi and everyone else that died was our friends too." Isamu pointed out with a frown, "We've done this three times, now it's time we do it for Hideyo. The best way we can help put her to rest is to find out who it murdered her. It may be Toshiro or someone else. We won't know till the end of the trial."

Everyone fell silent at the mention of the trial. Despite having to endure through the suffering three times already, no one enjoyed the thought that they would be forced to watch another one of their friends die at the hands of Monokuma.  
Leon sighed as the memories of the executions raced through his mind, recalling each of the faces of his deceased friends. He could remember Kazuo screaming in pain with blood coming out of his ears. He could remember Kiyoshi battered and bruised, staring up in horror at the piano falling toward her. He could remember Seiichi horrified as his body plummeted toward the pit of spikes down below him.

Each face caused guilt to weigh heavily on his shoulders; guilt from wishing he had been brave enough to try to save them. He couldn't help but wonder that had he not been concerned with his own safety and fearing to repeat the mistakes of his past, would he had been able to save at least one of his friends. He knew if he put himself in any scenario that resulted in his death, his soul would be lost. The thought of his soul being lost in a void still deeply terrified him; being unable to move on while being forced to stay in endless darkness for eternity wasn't a pleasant thought. But for the teen, he wondered if that fate truly was worse than watching each of his friends get executed before his very eyes.

Suddenly, he found his thoughts interrupted by the sound of Toshiro yawning. He turned toward the teenage boy to see him stretching his back as he stood up from his spot on the stairs.

"Well I think that's enough." the arrogant teen announced, "It's time to head to the courtroom in order to decide who done it."

Everyone was shocked at the director's words, prompting them to dread the upcoming trial even more. None of them had any evidence that could point toward Hideyo's killer, let alone answer why she was killed. If they got the answer wrong in the trial then they would all be executed while the killer walks free.

Desperate to buy more time, Leon said "Toshiro, if you're truly the Mastermind, then you need to give us more time to investigate. If it turns out that you aren't the murderer, you'll be executed with the rest of us."

He watched as Toshiro grasped his chin in thought. While he knew arrogant teen wasn't really the Mastermind, he didn't want to let him know this in hopes of finding out why he's posing as the Mastermind and preventing the real Mastermind from exposing the secret of his true identity. The room seemed silent to him except for the frantic pounding of his heart from nervousness. Each second that passed by that he awaited the teen's response felt like hours.

Finally his anxiety was shattered when Toshiro let go of his chin and responded "Nope, I think you guys have everything you need to tackle this case. Whelp, see you guys in the elevator."

Leon's mouth dropped open in shock as he watched the director began to leave the basement, but before the brown-headed teen left he could have swore he heard him mutter under his breath "Besides, she had faith in you all."

The moment the young director had disappeared from sight, Naoko groaned "So much for surviving this trial. There's no way we'll answer correctly. Maybe Toshiro is truly the Mastermind and decided he can't stick around now that we know his identity, even if it means him dying."

"Or it could be he is Hideyo's murderer and he isn't afraid of us getting it wrong because it means he'll survive." Shizko noted in a bitter tone.

Leon inhaled deeply as his mind was swimming in questions that continued to plague him. Who killed Hideyo? Why was Toshiro claiming to be the Mastermind? Why was Monokuma allowing Toshiro to claim to be the Mastermind? All these questions he hoped would be answered in the upcoming trial. With determination burning in both his heart and his pale-blue eyes, he began making his way up the stairs. One way or another, he would solve the seemingly unsolvable murder of Hideyo Rei.


	28. Chapter 28 - The Fourth Trial

Chapter 28

Tension filled the air as the remaining six participants entered the elevator with the one who claimed to be the Mastermind. Leon had his arms crossed as he stared at the brown-headed teen that smiled smugly at his companions. He couldn't understand what the director was scheming, especially if he managed to somehow convince Monokuma to play along with his plan. He didn't know why, but he felt that Toshiro's reason for posing as the Mastermind would be connected to the reason why Hideyo was murdered. He sighed as he glanced to the side, watching as the elevator made its descent.

His hands clenched at the anxiety bubbling up in his stomach. An anxiety he still hasn't gotten use to despite facing it three times already. Gathering up his nerves in an attempt to calm his mind, he took in a deep breath as the elevator had reached its destination for the fourth time.  
The group of teens silently piled out of the elevator with with mixture of bravery and nervousness. Upon examining their surroundings, they noticed the courtroom had changed once again. Instead of a Shogun Temple, the courtroom was designed like a movie set with fake props that had Monokuma's colors and his symbol.

"Man when Toshiro said he wasn't going to hide that he was the Mastermind anymore, he wasn't kidding. This courtroom practically screams Ultimate Director." Naoko commented as he took his place at his assigned stand.

Leon scoffed at the sprint runner's comment before proceeding to examine the rest of the courtroom. He easily spotted the two colorless portraits in place of Seiichi's and Hideyo's spots. While Hideyo's picture had the traditional red X painted over her face, Seiichi's had the large red text of "KO" written over his face.

"KO? That's not even a wrestling term, that's boxing." Shizko commented with one hand rested on her hip.

But before anyone could say anything, a familiar squeaky voice replied "Well duh, but I care less. He was 'Killed Off' so the joke works in that sense."

Upon hearing the voice, everyone immediately turned to see Monokuma now sitting in his usual red throne.

"Hey, I thought there was no need for you anymore! The Mastermind has been revealed right?" Isamu exclaimed in both shock and accusation.

"It wouldn't be a class trial without Monokuma now would it?" Toshiro replied, directing all attention toward him, "Why would I start breaking tradition now?"

Leon narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He knew the director was simply making up excuses to make the other not question the appearance of the robotic bear, especially after he had claimed that there was no longer a reason for him to hide his identity as the Mastermind. His fingers curled around the edges of his stand as he watched the brown-headed teen announced that he would begin the conservation for the trial. He did his best from letting a snarl of annoyance escape his mouth, finding it annoying the teen was acting with the same arrogance he expressed in Seiichi's trial.

The smug grin never left Toshiro's face as he went over the facts concerning the trial, reminding his companions how Hideyo had been found in the basement with a broken neck with bruises that indicated that she was in a struggle. A mischievous glint shined his eyes whilst he intertwined his hands behind his back. He couldn't help back chuckle a bit when he noticed his companions watching him with unease and uncertainty, nervously awaiting his next actions.

"Let's go over the events leading up to the murder shall we?" the director said with a hum, "Hideyo and I were locked up in Isas' room after her little outburst. A little after midnight, a blackout affected the entire factory. At that time, being closest to the door, I used the opportunity to escape Isas' room. It's obvious that Hideyo shared my same thoughts."

"Yeah, and that's where you obviously murdered her! Isas' room is only a few doors away from the stairway. Even without lights, you could have easily reached the basement with the use of the rail on the wall. There you managed to get into a fight with Hideyo and proceed to luckily get an upper hand before breaking her neck." Shizko immediately yelled in anger.

Toshiro seem unfazed by the teenage girl's angry accusation. Instead he simply folded his arms with a bored expression, mimicking yet another familiar pose preformed by Junko Enoshima. The tone of disappointment dripped off each of his words as he echoed the same statement he told the sculptor the very first day of the killing game, mocking her for not realizing the obvious facts. A smirk flashed across his face when he notice the silver-headed girl jolt in shock and surprise.

"Wha-What are you talking about? It's clearly obvious she died in the basement and you were the only one close enough to do that! The rest of us wouldn't be able to make our way through darkness to reach the basement!" Shizko quickly replied with a bit of stuttering.

Upon hearing the sculptor's argument, the brown-headed teen simply sighed with the shake of his head as he responded "It seems you still don't get it. Let's ask Leon for his opinion, after all he has shown to be quite skilled when it comes to solving these murders."

The red-head's brows raised in surprise at the mention of his name. A bit of anxiety filled him when he noticed by Shizko and Toshiro staring at him expectantly. In the previous trials, he simply offered his thoughts and counterarguments with little to no prompting. Now he had two people eagerly awaiting his thoughts, both hoping for him to take one side over the other. He took a deep breath as his eyes glanced away from the silver-haired teen, unable to make eye contact. As much as he hated to admit it, he had to side with Toshiro.

With a small sigh of regret, the baseball explained that it was impossible for a fight to have taken place in the basement. He had brought up how he noticed the shelves had been undisturbed, something that wouldn't been the case if Hideyo had been in a fight in the basement. If that had happened, the shelves and the items it contained would have been knocked over, leaving the basement in a messy state. Even the possibility of the culprit gathering up the things that had fallen would have been impossible; with the lights out the culprit wouldn't be able to see what had fallen.

The moment he finished his explanation, he glanced back at Shizko to see her glaring at him with her teeth clenched. He frowned in an attempt to silently apologize to the sculptor. He knew she wasn't angry that his observation contradicted her statement but rather that he was siding with the one she considered responsible for Kiyoshi's death. He was easily able to realize this by recognizing the expression of rage painted on the teenage girl's face as the very same one she wore when he pointed out Kiyoshi as Hisoka's murderer.

 _"I'm sorry, Shizko, but you can't let your feelings dictate your actions. That kind of thing is what made me make the mistake of killing Sayaka."_ he thought to himself.

Leon was snapped out of his thoughts when the sound of chuckling reached his ears. He turned toward the director to see him smugly smiling toward him.

"So you do agree with me, Leon? Funny considering how elated you were to destroy each of my arguments in your previous trial. Consider this pain you feel from taking my side payback for that trial." Toshiro commented with a sly grin.

"He ain't siding with a piece of scum like you!" Isas snarled in rage, "I may have protected you from Hideyo, but that doesn't mean I'll tolerate your actions. You act like he's going to agree with every one of your statements!"

The arrogant teen chuckled with his head propped up by his hand. He found it amusing to see the angry glares directed toward him. He could tell each person had constant accusations filling in their mind, ready to accuse him as Hideyo's murderer. But he was confident none of them would be able to pin him for the killing, believing every single one of their statements would crumble. He saw the courtroom as his playground and he would play his part.  
Leon shook his head at the amused director. While he agreed with Isas' sentiment that he was only trying to solve the mystery surrounding the murder, he felt the young director was too confident. Almost as if he knew more than he let on.

"Now that we established that Hideyo wasn't murdered in the basement, perhaps we should discuss why she was found in the basement. Any suggestions?" Toshiro said with his grin never leaving his face.

The room remained silent until finally Naoko spoke up "Maybe the culprit fought with Hideyo near the top of the stairway and broke her neck. Once she was dead, they dragged her body down to the basement in a poor attempt to hide it."

Leon's breath hitched when he noticed the director glance toward him with a confident shine in his eyes. He didn't even have to guess to know Toshiro was waiting for him to debunk Naoko's suggestion like he did with Shizko's. Suspicion toward the arrogant teen grew even more as a disgusted sneer formed on his face. He had no idea what the brown-headed teen was scheming, but he certainly didn't like how he was seemingly pitting him against his companions. Taking a quick glance around the room, he noticed the numerous expectant stares focused on him.

Knowing he couldn't delay the inevitable, the red-head pointed out the state Hideyo's body was discovered. He mentioned Isas' comment about how the deceased stunt actress' limbs were sprawled out in awkward directions when logically they should had been laying close to her body due to collapsing upon her neck being broken. But with her arms and legs spread apart in different and strange directions, it was clear that her body wasn't simply laid in that spot.

"The only way her body would have ended up in that position is if she fell. Which is exactly what happened." Leon finished with a sigh, "Based on what Isas and I found, Hideyo had fallen down the stairs. The bruises on her body was created from her tumbling down the stairs."

Naoko's mouth dropped open in disbelief that Leon had once again proven Toshiro right. While he didn't carry as much hatred toward the arrogant teen as the some of his companions, it still unnerved him that his friend was forced to side with a teenager that expressed joy when it came to their friends' deaths.  
Isamu watched as her friends' frustration was bubbling over and blinding their judgement all because the demented director was provoking them. Her hands tightly clasped together in front of her chest as she bit down on her lip hard.

The robotics expert couldn't stand her friends being torn apart, especially during a time their lives were at risk. If they couldn't all come to an agree in order to find the correct answer to who the culprit is, they all risked being executed. The last thing she wanted was for her and her friends to all die in a place she considered a living hell.

In a desperate attempt to unite her friends she exclaimed "Where's your proof, Leon?!"

Not only Leon, but Isas as well stared in shock at the nineteen year-old's sudden outburst.

"Where's your proof Hideyo had fallen down the stairs?" the sandy-blonde-headed teen demanded with more conviction in her voice and her index finger jabbed out toward the athlete, "You say Hideyo had fallen down the stairs, but where's your proof? Who's to say the culprit didn't set up Hideyo's body to make look like she had fallen? Seiichi had set up Hideaki's and Hiroko's bodies to hide his real method for murder so it's reasonable to believe the culprit for this case did the same thing!"

The baseball player remained speechless at the teenage girl's demand. It was hard to see his friend full of determination and conviction, especially when he knew precisely how to destroy her statement. Recalling the blood splatter near the top of the stairs, he easily knew that would provide conclusive evidence for how Hideyo died. But unfortunately, he found himself torn in two. On one hand, he considered withholding the information. After all he still didn't know if Toshiro was truly innocent, especially when the director gave him the impression of knowing more than he admits to. But on the other hand, Hideyo's method of murder could end up being a crucial clue in discovering the culprit's identity.

But before he could come up with a decision, he heard Isas speak up "I'm sorry, Isamu, but your theory is wrong."

Immediately the red-haired teen snapped his head up in shock, noticing the guilty yet stern expression painted on the racer's face.

"Near the top of the stairs, on one of the steps, Leon and I found a blood splatter." Isas continued, "It was dry but didn't seem too old. If you all recall there was a bit of blood that had been dripping from Hideyo's mouth. It's safe to assume that not only did Hideyo fall down the stairs, but the stairs was what resulted in Hideyo's broken neck."

Isamu was stunned at the teenage boy's response, only able to utter a single "Isas..."

Toshiro couldn't help but raise a brow in surprise at the fact the racer that had despised him over the past fifteen days was willing to defend him. Even after how awful he acted to everyone, it stunned him to see someone would still be willing to defend him. Because he was so surprised, before he could even stop himself, he found himself asking the racer why he was siding with him. The moment that he uttered those words, he couldn't help flinch when he saw the cold glare of gray eyes now focused on him.

"I'm not taking your side, something you and everyone here needs to realize." Isas replied before taking a pause to run his hand over his face and continuing, "I don't know if you're innocent or not. Heck I don't even know if you're bluffing about being the Mastermind or not. The point is, I care for all of my friends. You may be a piece of jerk that needs some sense knocked into him, but you're still a friend. We're all this horrible situation together and we need to work together in order to get out alive. So I'm not going to let all of my friends die all because of my anger toward you. No matter our feelings, we need to face them head on and come to terms with them. You're a horrible person, but you don't deserve to die. None of them did."

Silence lingeried in the air as each of the teens carefully considered the words of the speech. They had all finally come to realize the only reason they were in disarray was because they let their anger toward the arrogant teen blind them. They weren't trying to find Hideyo's murderer; they were only trying to pin the murder on Toshiro at all costs as means of spite for his actions.

Suddenly the group of teens found their thoughts shattered by Toshiro speaking up "I see. So this is what she wanted me to see. Maybe she did have a point with that ramble of hers."

Leon slightly tilted his head in curiosity at the the teen's words. There was no doubt in his mind that the director was referring to Hideyo, leaving him to wonder what he meant by "So this is what she wanted me to see." Recalling back to during the investigation in the basement, he remembered how the brown-headed teen had muttered "Besides, she had faith in you all." It only took him a few seconds to think about the implications before everything finally clicked in his mind. He now understood why Toshiro seemed to know so much about Hideyo's death; he realized that the teen had to have been in contact with Hideyo before her death.

Wanting to confirm his suspicion, he asked the director if Hideyo had managed to catch up to him during the blackout. He watched as the the brown-headed teen laughed with his hands on his hips whilst accusing him of grasping for excuses. Choosing to ignore the arrogant teen's words, his pale-blue eyes focused on Toshiro's wrist. Just barely, he could see the bandages poking out from underneath the director's sleeve. The baseball player knew his companion claimed to have injured it during the blackout, but he never specified how.

Deciding to confront him, Leon said "Toshiro, you seem really keen on hiding that bandaged wrist of yours. Something that wouldn't be considered suspicious if it weren't for the fact you're trying to hide it and won't admit how it got injured in the first place. So tell me, was that injured wrist a result of Hideyo catching up to you?"

Toshiro flinched at the mention of his injured wrist. Seeing that he could no longer hide its existence, he carefully rolled up his sleeve to reveal the bandages firmly tied around a swollen wrist.

"Well I shouldn't be acting so suspicious anymore. She managed to get her point across like she wanted. So I would say it's safe to assume that I can drop the act." the teen stated with a sad smile, "Shame, because it was a little fun tricking you all like that."

"Tricking us? What do you mean?" Mineko spoke up.

Toshiro's eyes glanced up at his companions as a small grin formed on his face. His features still contained a bit mischievousness to them but not to the high levels they once were. Finally ready to reveal his confess his secret, he revealed his claim to being the Mastermind was nothing more than an act planned out by none other than the deceased Hideyo Rei.

 _Toshiro's heart raced in panic as he blindly swung open the door. He could see nothing but darkness with the sounds of Isas shouting and footsteps. With no idea where he was going, he took off in a random direction. The thought of the stunt actress getting a hold of him and unleashing her rage upon him terrified him deeply. He kept running with the hopes of escaping until he felt a strong, firm hand successfully grab a hold of his jacket. A yelp of both shock and fear escaped his mouth as he found himself tossed to the floor._

 _Despite being unable to see anything, his entire world felt like it was spinning. It wasn't long till he felt himself lifted up off the ground by his shirt collar. The teenage director clenched his teeth as his eyes desperately searched the darkness. He easily knew the one that had him lifted up was Hideyo herself, but he felt uneasy at the fact he wasn't able to see her face._

 _Growing more scared by the second, he yelped "Let go of me!" whilst blinding swatting his hand toward the stunt actress._

 _Unfortunately this action was proven to be a mistake when his wrist was easily snatched. Whimpers of pain managed to escape his mouth as he felt his wrist begin to get squeezed tightly._

 _"Try that stunt again and I will break your wrist." Hideyo said in a venomous tone, "Now start talking. Why did you put us in this killing game?"_

 _Toshiro sucked in a sharp breath, struggling to find the words due to both the pain in his wrist and his increasing fear._

 _"For the last time, I'm not the Mastermind!" he whimpered, fearing for his life for the first time in the killing game, "Even if I was, why would I confess to it? Wouldn't that be the equavilent of purposely painting a target on my face? Something like that would openly encourage the others to kill me just to end the killing game!"_

 _The brown-headed teen's heart pounded in fear; nervous sweat managed to form on his brow. For the first time in his life, he was forced to reflect and think back to his actions. All those times, he claimed he truly felt sorry for his dead friends in the killing game. But now he realizes, that wasn't the case. He hadn't understood the true fear they felt before their deaths until he felt it. In attempt to appeal to the furious stunt actress, he began apologizing for his comments toward his friends that were killed by Monokuma's executions. Terrified sobs spilled forth as his explained his origins as the Ultimate Director._

 _In the past, he always had admired action films and wanted to make films that would glorify the genre. He had worked for days on to perfect his own film, imagining people would love seeing the heroics of a superhero facing down dangerous obstacles. He was happy with his product until he finally presented it to the public. People were impressed with the film and he had hoped it was because of the attention and care he poured into creating the character itself. But much to his disappointment, the viewers didn't care much for his character. All they wanted to see was the stunts and explosions._

 _"I made film after film. Constantly I was praised for the special effects, never the characters I put care into. After some time, I started thinking people cared nothing for the characters and only wanted the spectacle. So I gave them just that. But they weren't pleased, I was instead accused of being a lazy hack that knew nothing of how to make a film. Over time I became bitter. I had embraced the image people expected of me, so why do they not like me for giving them exactly what they wanted?" Toshiro finished in a weak tone._

 _Hideyo did not reply to the director's tale, instead her grip on his shirt collar slightly slackened. It surprised her, but after hearing his tale, she had come to realize that he was just like her. While she loved being a stunt actress, she craved for the spotlight. She wanted to be recognized as more than the Ultimate Stunt Actress. She wanted to star in films and portray many different characters. But much to her sadness, no one gave her a chance. She was always called in just to step in for the main star during action scenes._

 _With this realization in mind, she finally gently lowered Toshiro to the ground._

 _"I can see now how you developed such a horrible mindset." she admitted as the brown-headed teen rubbed his now swollen wrist, "Doesn't mean I consider your actions as acceptable, but I understand them now. If you're telling the truth, then the real Mastermind was only trying to give us a reason for a murder to happen by setting up an easy target. We already weren't on good terms with you and being the Mastermind would only worsen those terms. We need to convince the others of this trick."_

 _"Convince the others?! I'm surprised you didn't consider my story as just a sob story to buy sympathy!" Toshiro exclaimed in a slight bitter tone, "If anything, I've been shown that people hate me. I bet if any kind of suspicion was placed on me, the others would instantly mark me as guilty. No matter the facts."_

 _Hideyo raised a brow in interest at the director's words. She could see that he was truly convinced that everyone hated him. Her eyes closed in thought, desperately thinking of a way to prove him wrong with an accusation. Suddenly, she gasped when an idea entered her mind. With her plan, not only could she prove Toshiro wrong but she could also confirm if Toshiro truly wasn't the Mastermind._

"Hideyo had planned to start up a trial where I would claim to be the Mastermind. By accepting the claim, it would make me the most despicable person in this room. Monokuma only agreed to play along with my charade when I approached him becuase he thought it would create entertaining conflict. Hideyo had faith you would all easily solve the case and not only see that I wasn't the Mastermind, but show me that you guys wouldn't throw me under the bus first chance you get. Turns out she was right and it's all thanks to things almost going according to plan." Toshiro finished.

"When you say 'almost', I assume you mean the part about Hideyo dying." Isas asked, "I doubt Hideyo would have thrown away her own life for such a risky plan."

The brown-headed teen nodded his head before replying "With the many stunts she had to perform over the years, some of them required her to play dead. She was so skilled she could even slow down her heartbeat enough that you couldn't even pick up a pulse. The plan was for her to only fake her death and revealed to be alive during the trial. That way no one would be executed. Unfortunately, I knew that idea had gone out the window after she told me she was goint to the basement to get a flashlight. A few seconds after she took off, I heard the sound of her scream and something tumbling down the stairs. I guess she tripped over something we couldn't see due to the blackout."

All of the sudden, a horrified gasp filled the air. Leon turned his head to see Mineko trembling with tears starting to streak down her face.

"No! No! She couldn't have! **She couldn't have tripped over that bag!** " Mineko exclaimed in a horrified voice.

The instant those words left the music composer's mouth, Leon's face turned pale with realization. He watched as the nineteen year-old girl started crying, denying that Hideyo had died from falling down the stairs.  
Tears continued to streak down Mineko's face as she desperately shouted many different claims, anything to avoid the truth. She didn't want to admit the horrid truth she had come to realize. Her fingers dug into her hair as she practically screamed at the top of her lungs, claiming her innocence.

Hundreds of thoughts were racing in through her mind. Memories flashing through her mind of Monokuma stopping her in the hallway and demanding her to fix one of the broken cameras. Unable to handle the horrible truth of the situation, she let out one last sob before burying her face in her hands.  
The red-head was speechless at music composer's outburst. He glanced around the room to see the same shocked and horrified faces painted on his companions. He didn't have to guess to know the implications of the girl's breakdown.

He glanced over to the sobbing Mineko and, for a brief second, the image turned into a terrified Sayaka in the bathroom crying as she backed up against the wall, fearing the individual in front of her.

Swallowing the lump of nervousness that formed in his throat, Leon gathered his courage and asked "Mineko, I know you were in my room for a majority of the blackout. But I have to ask, **where were you before that point?** "

The light-brown-haired girl choked back a few sobs as she wiped away her tears. She refused to let her friends die for her mistake, even if it was unintentional one.

So with a shaky tone, she confessed "Monokuma was having me fix one of the broken cameras. I had grabbed the bag from my room to use the tool kit for the job. I was on my way to fix the camera until suddenly the lights went out. I have a deep fear of being in the dark due to being trapped in an elevator during a blackout once. I was terrified and instantly fled in a random direction. But because of this, I had dropped my bag at the top of the stairs during my panicked frenzy."

Leon clenched his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut both in regret and anger. Mineko hadn't murdered anyone due to panic, confusion, or even a desperate to escape. He could now understand Mineko's breakdown, she been the indirect cause of a murder. It was a murder caused by unforeseen circumstances none of them could prevent. Seeing nothing else they could do, he along with everyone else voted for Mineko as the blackened.

"Puhuhu! You all managed to get it right! Mineko is the indirect murderer of Hideyo Rei!" Monokuma proclaimed happily, "For a second I thought this class trial was going in the dumps all because director boy here killed the fun. But thanks to Ms. I Just Realized I'm the Killer here, her outburst managed to lighten up the mood. Seeing that display of despair was downright hilarious! What's even funnier is that I'm the one that caused the blackout for fun! Who knew it would lead to this entertainment? Whelp with that out of the way, let's skip the mushy stuff and get straight to the action!"

The red-head's body froze in horror at the robotic bear's words. The objections from his friends filled the air as he stared at the sobbing Mineko. His body tensed as the faces of all his deceased friends flashed through his mind. Jin had been murdered and Kazuo was executed for it, Hisoka had been murdered and Kiyoshi was executed for it, Hideaki and Hiroko had been murdered and Seiichi was executed for it, now Hideyo had been murdered and Mineko was going to be executed for it.

"Now I've prepared a very special punishment for Mineko Akasuki, the Ultimate Music Composer! So get ready..." the bear continued in a demented yet excited tone.

The room was filled with the constant shouts of the remaining teens, desperate to save their friend. They were desperate to stop the execution, especially when Mineko had only indirectly been the cause for Hideyo's death.

But their pleas fell on deaf ears as Monokuma finished "IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!"

Mineko felt like her heart had stopped as she watched the black and white bear slam his gavel down on the big red button. Her body was practically trembling, knowing the remaining minutes of her life would be filled with pain and despair. Suddenly, out from the darkness came a metal chair. The music composer cried out in surprise as the chair collided into her, forcing her to sit down. The moment she was seated, a giant metal cuff closed around her waist. She screamed out in fear with her hand desperately reached out before being pulled backwards into the darkness.

Leon felt his heart constantly pound as the memories of his companions being whisked away to their execution raced through his mind. His attention was directed toward the wall lowering to reveal the metal fence he and his companions were forced to watch the executions through. On the other side of the fence, he was greeted with the sight of a long circular room designed to look like a band stage. At the top of the stage, he could see Minkeo still pinned to the chair with a single spotlight shining down on her.

The music composer took in quick and panicked breaths as she glanced around the stage she was on. She could see nothing but her friends on the other side of the fence. She struggled a bit to free herself from the chair until she noticed Monokuma approach the front of the stage. She couldn't help but grimace when she saw him dressed in a tux with a baton in hand. She grew nervous when the demented bear chuckled before tapping his baton against a music sheet stand. At that moment, three spotlights turned on to reveal a series of bows designed to look like violins loaded with arrows designed like musical notes aimed at her.

 **Farewell Concert: Mineko Akasuki's Punishment**

With the wave of the baton, music filled the air with arrows flying in sync with the music. Mineko cried out in pain as three arrows managed to pierce her right arm. Her teeth clenched hard as she could feel the arrows either barely missing her or managing to pierce her arms or legs. None of the arrows managed to hit any of her vitals organs but she knew this was because Monokuma wanted her to suffer from the despair until the final blow. Much to her fear, she saw more spotlights turn on to reveal more bows and arrows designed like musical instruments, making her grow more fearful of the weapons that still lurked in the dark.

Leon's fingers tightened around the wiring of the fence as he watched the teenage girl get shot and grazed by the series of arrows. The memories of the previous executions rushed through his mind until finally he saw his own execution race through his mind. He couldn't stand it, he wanted to do something, anything. Out frustration, he leaned his forehead against the fence. But the moment he did this, he noticed the fence leaned farther than he anticipated. Quickly glancing up, he noticed Monokuma never bothered to tie the top of the fence to the ceiling.

 _"He must have not thought anyone of us would be crazy enough to run in there. I can use this. I don't care if I die, I'm not going to let another one of my friends die to this horrid game! I won't let them be like me!"_ he thought to himself.

With determination filling him, and a firm grip on the wiring, he began scaling up the fence. He blocked out the sounds of his friends shouting at him and Naoko's claims that he had gone suicidal. Each of his dead friends kept racing through his mind as he finally managed pull himself over the top of the fence, constantly reminding him why he was choosing to sacrifice himself. Not caring about the pain, he allowed himself to drop on the floor with a grunt. Ragged breaths escaped the red-head's mouth as he scampered to his feet, seeing Monokuma was still distracted with execution.

With no second thoughts in his mind, he dashed forward past the robotic bear and threw himself on a now unconscious Mineko. Leon screamed in pain as he felt the arrows piercing his arms and back. His grip tightened around the unconscious teenage girl, making sure to shelter her from all the weapons still in the midst of firing. His body began to grow weak as his surroundings began to fade to black. Though despite his fading vision, he managed to see one final spotlight turn on to reveal shotgun design to look like a large baton.

Determined to protect the nineteen-year old to the very end, Leon managed to mutter out "At least I can die happy knowing I saved one friend."

The last note of the song filled the air, prompting the gun to finally fire. Using his remaining strength, Leon managed to shove Mineko out of the way so the the bullet hit him instead. A sharp and pained gasp escaped his mouth while his head was thrown back, blood starting to leak from the bullet wound in his shoulder. With no strength remaining, his body collapsed into a slumped position over Mineko's lap.  
Mineko groaned as her green eyes slowly opened before rapidly blinked in shock.

"I'm alive?! But h-" she started to say until she registered the heavy weight on her lap.

She glanced down to see the bloody body of Leon slumped over her lap.

"Leon." she muttered quietly, both in a saddened and thankful tone.

The music composer was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of her friends shouting. She lifted her head up instantly to see her friends had climbed over the fence and were rushing over to her.

"Oh Mineko, thank god! We thought you both had died!" Isamu cried as she hugged the injured girl tightly.

"What, she survived?!" Monokuma's voice exclaimed, prompting the remaining teens to direct their attention toward him, "No, she doesn't get to survive! She's going through that execution again and she will die this time!"

"Well... technically she doesn't have to." Naoko started, "Unlike Junko's killing game, you never specified that the punishment for the culprit means execution. You just said 'punishment'. In a way, while Leon took the killing blow, Mineko was still injured before that point so she has technically been punished."

Everyone, even Monokuma, was shocked at the fact the sprint runner manged to find a loophole. The black and white bear snarled with his face turning red in rage. He couldn't believe he slipped up with that detail, especially after he took special care in learning all the techniques Junko had used and the rules she established for the Hope's Peak Academy killing game. Knowing it was too late to try to fix his mistake, he grumbled in rage as he stormed off.

Once the bear was out of sight, Mineko let out a weak sigh of relief when she felt the cuff around her waist finally release her.

"Come on, Mineko. You're hurt pretty bad. Let's try to tend to those wounds." Shizko said as she reached for the music composer's arm.

But much to her surprise, she watched as Mineko firmly wrapped her arms around Leon's torso and struggle to lift him up.

"Mineko, don't." Isas started before pausing when his voice almost cracked in sadness, "Leon's dead. We have nowhere to put him so, while it may seem heartless, just nudge him to the floor and we'll leave."

Upon hearing this, the music composer looked up in horror as she exclaimed "No don't! I can still feel his heartbeat! Leon's still alive!"

 **Killing Game Students - 7 Remain?**


	29. Chapter 29 - Hope

Chapter 29

"Toshiro, get the door open already!" Isas' voice rang through the air.

The director quickly swung open the door, just in time for Naoko and Isas to carry in an unconscious and injured Leon by his arms and legs. Isas clenched his teeth as he helped carry the injured teen over to the bed. The events that unfolded moments ago constantly raced through the racer's mind. He never imagined Leon would suddenly start climbing the fence in an attempt to save Mineko from her execution.

"Please tell me he'll be okay." a feminine voice spoke up, stirring the black-haired teen from his thoughts.

He turned to see a still weak and injured Mineko leaning on Shizko for support.

Though the girl's face was twisted in pain from the arrows still lodged in her arms and legs, she managed to utter "I don't want him to die because of me. If there's anything I can do to help him, please tell me. I can't allow myself to be a simple burden for him, I need to repay him for saving me."

A small smile formed on Isas' face. It both surprised and pleased him to notice the music composer's shift in personality. After her near death experience, he had noticed the teenage girl had became much more braver and confident, determined to find a way out and end the killing game once and for all. Knowing his friend was far too weak to do anything at the moment, he urged her to take care of her wounds first, believing it wouldn't do any good if she was too hurt to help. Much to his happiness, he saw his friend accepted his advice before leaving the room with Shizko.

"So how are we suppose to help Leon anyway?" Naoko asked in a worried tone, "If you remember the only one of us in the group that had medical knowledge got killed over a week ago."

"Ugh, did you really need to remind us how much of loss we suffered from Hisoka's death? I'm starting to see why Shizko snaps at you regularly." Toshiro groaned.

Isas sighed whilst rubbing his fingers against the temple of his forehead. Knowing they didn't have any time to argue, he quickly commanded Naoko to fetch medical supplies from the nurse's office. His gray eyes watched as the sprint runner nodded in understanding. Turning his attention back to Leon, he muttered for the director to help hold their companion up by his torso. The racer was quite pleased when the brown-headed teen followed his command without question and held up Leon's body where it was sitting upright.

Silently, the nineteen year-old racer grabbed a hold of one of the arrows lodged into the red-head's back. Trying to be both careful yet fast, he managed to pull out the arrow with one swift yank. His breath hitched slightly when he noticed Leon's body jolt slightly in pain. Relieved that his friend could still at least register pain, he proceeded to remove the rest of the arrows. By the time he removed the last arrow, he noticed Naoko finally return with as many bandages and disinfectants he could carry.

"Will this work?" the ginger-headed teen asked as he set the medical supplies on the bed.

"If he has no inner wounds we can't see, then yes." Isas replied.

Making sure that Toshiro had a good grip on Leon, he slowly grabbed a hold of the bottom of Leon's jacket and shirt before carefully pulling it over his head. Upon doing this, his face twisted slightly when he saw the nineteen year-old's back covered in blood and the wounds left behind by the arrows.

"He's losing blood fast. I'm going to have to do this quickly." the racer muttered whilst grabbing a rag and one of the bottles of disinfectants.

Acting fast, yet cautiously Isas poured the disinfectant on the rag and began cleaning the wounds. He resisted the urge to mutter out apologies when he noticed Leon's body slightly flinch, remembering that the teen wasn't quite aware of his surroundings and was only responding to pain. He cleaned up all the wounds before taking the bandages and firmly wrapping them around the red-head's chest. Feeling sweat form on his brow from nervousness, Isas let out a sigh as he wiped his brow.

"Okay, all that's left is the bullet. I think it's still in his shoulder." he stated.

Thankful that it wasn't lodged too deep, Isas took off one of his gloves and managed to pull the bullet out. Once the bullet was gone, he applied pressure to the open wound before firmly wrapping bandages around it. Letting out a sigh of relief, both he and Toshiro laid Leon back down on the bed.

"So what now?" Toshiro asked while dusting off his hands.

Isas' gray eyes were filled with determination with his hands tightly clenched. For the moment, there was nothing more they could do for Leon until he finally woke up. But despite this, there was one thing the racer wanted to do. No longer did he want to wait for Monokuma to taunt them in order to encourage yet another murder.

With his mindset up, he turned toward the director and answered "We're going to find and beat the Mastermind."

Back with the girls in Shizko's room, the sculptor grunted as she finished tightening the last of the bandages around Mineko's arm.  
The music composer nodded her head in gratefulness. She could see both of her arm was now fully covered in bandages whereas as her legs only needed a few for her upper thighs. Without a word, she slipped back on her green blouse and began buttoning it back up. As she did this, her mind was still filled with worry and determination.

Her mind couldn't stop thinking about how she almost perished to her execution. Her heart nearly skipped a beat, prompting her to pause with her hand tightening on her blouse. She didn't have to guess to know the pain, fear, and constant inner pleading for a miracle was the exact same feeling three of her friends felt before they were successfully executed by Monokuma. Unlike her three friends, she had been given a second chance at life thanks to a brave individual. It was a chance she didn't want to waste cowering in fear and waiting for the next murder. A sigh managed to escape Mineko's mouth as she finished buttoning up her blouse and pulled on her gray jacket.

Gathering what strength she had, the light-brown haired girl pushed herself off the bed, wobbling a bit upon doing so. Much to her relief, Isamu had quickly rushed over and grabbed her arm in an attempt to help steady herself.

"You're still pretty weak." Shizko noted with a frown, "Are you sure you want to be moving around so soon?"

Mineko nodded her head whilst making sure she had more steady footing.

"I can't stand the thought of sitting around, especially after Leon nearly gave up his life to give me a second chance at life. It's time we no longer play Monokuma's game. We need to find out exactly who's controlling him for Leon and all our friends who have died because of this horrible game." she replied in a stern tone.

Both Shizko and Isamu glanced at each other before nodding in agreement. None of them wanted to even give the demented bear a chance to crumble their wills with yet another motive. They were tired of the killings, tired of the trials, tired of the executions, and tired of watching the number of their friends dwindle smaller and smaller.

"So what should we do first? How are we suppose to uncover the Mastermind's identity?" Isamu asked.

"The laptop might be a good idea." the sculptor suggested, "We never checked to see if it had anything on it. All we used it for was to view the video on the flash drive. If the Mastermind was anything like Junko Enoshima, they probably purposely left that laptop in order to give us a fighting chance. Nothing is more despairful than seeing your careful laid out plan fail in the end."

With the plan set up, the three teenage girls left the room and made their way to the basement.

Meanwhile in an unknown part of the factory, the Mastermind narrowed their eyes as they carefully studied the security camera footage. It annoyed them to learn that Leon's sacrifice managed to rally up his friends to work together to end the killing game. But out of all the events, the thing that angered them the most was Leon's interference with the execution.

"I can't let the killing game end like this." the Mastermind muttered as they turned toward the deactivated Monokuma, "Junko Enoshima had made sure her finale was full of despair. If those kids expose me now, especially after that stupid Leon Kuwata's sacrifice, my plan would be ruined. It would be an ending full of hope and no conflict, ugh, such a boring way to end things."

The figure grumbled as they leaned forward, propping their elbows on their knees and the back of their hands firmly pressed under their chin.

"If I were Junko Enoshima, what would I do if I felt the participants were about to ruin everything?" the figure hummed to themselves, "Well I suppose I would be delighted by the despair, but that isn't really what I want per say. This ending needs to be filled with conflict and despair. So if I wanted that, I would need to do something to drive them apart." they muttered with a sigh.

They closed their eyes in thought considering all of their options. Suddenly their eyes snapped open with a devilish and cunning grin forming on their face. Spinning around in their chair, the Mastermind opened up one of the desk drawers to reveal a survival knife. A dark chuckle rumbled from their throat as they picked up the knife. They would ensure the game ended how they wanted it at all costs.

Back with Mineko, her eyes were full of focus as she rapidly typed away at the keyboard. She was constantly searching for anything on the laptop that could help her gain an idea of who the Mastermind is. Unfortunately, after many minutes of searching, her search was proving to be fruitless. So far the only things she could find on the laptop were different bills that the factory owners had failed to pay and a series of written complaints from workers that were either laid off or felt like they were being overworked.

She groaned as she opened file after file, none of them giving any hints as to the Mastermind's identity. It annoyed and disappointed her that the laptop was turning out to be a dead end. The music composer was about to give up all hope until she finally opened up the last remaining file in the computer. Her eyes widened in both shock and joy at the text on the screen. Rather than being yet another bill or letter of complaint, the file contained a buyout notice.

"Guys, I think I might have found something!" she called out to her two friends.

Wasting no time, Isamu and Shizko quickly dashed over, standing on each side of the teenage girl.

"A buyout notice?" the robotics expert questioned in shock.

"It means this factory isn't abandoned at all, rather the owners were forced to sell it to a buyer." Shizko muttered in reply.

The three girls fell silent as they began reading the contents of the letter. They immediately learned a popular construction company in Japan had offered to buy the factory from the failing business. The purchase had been made over three months ago and all employees were forced to take their belongings and leave. Upon learning this, the three of them now understood why no one had grew suspicious of the factory being occupied yet and how the Mastermind managed to gain such easy access to the factory.

"That comment from Monokuma a few weeks ago makes sense now." Isamu noted, "I remember him getting angry at Hideaki for pointing out how the factory wasn't a school. Monokuma had snapped at him, mentioning something along the lines of 'You know how hard it is to get a school that isn't being used?'. If the Mastermind had bought a school, it probably would have raised too much suspicion and prompt people to investigate. If they wanted the killing game to go off without a hitch, they couldn't risk getting discovered."

Mineko nodded her head in response, both remembering Monokuma's comment and agreeing with the theory. She knew the Mastermind wanted to be secretive as possible, prompting them to gather participants with secret kidnappings and to buy a factory that wouldn't raise suspicion. She couldn't help but bite her lip nervously. At first, she had no idea what kind of person Mastermind was. Now she could imagine the Mastermind as a cunning individual that attended Hope's Peak Academy, using their knowledge to carefully craft the perfect killing game. With this in mind, it made her grow a little fearful at what the mysterious culprit would do once they were exposed.

She dwelt on her thoughts until she heard Shizko comment "Hey look here. Think I found the name of the construction company that made the purchase."

Wordlessly, her green eyes glanced on the screen. Just like the sculptor claimed, at the bottom of the file, she found the name of the factory. Written in bold text was the name "Sachio Construction." She didn't know why, but the name sounded familiar to her. Unfortunately, no matter how much she searched, she couldn't recall why the name sounded so familiar to her. Deciding to brush the nagging familiarity to the back of her mind, she decided to focus on the letter itself. After one last search to insure she didn't miss anything, Mineko suggested she and her companions return upstairs. If they intended to escape the killing game together, then they need to tell their other companions of their discovery.

Later that day, Isas let out a tired yawn as he opened the door to Leon's room. Having searched for hours, trying to find clues to the Mastermind, the racer figured it was time to check up on Leon. A small smile of relief formed on his face as he sat down in the chair, easily noticing the red-head's chest was still rising and falling at a steady rate with his breathing. Suddenly the sound of knocking filled the air. He quickly turned his head to see Mineko standing in the open doorway.

"Didn't expect to see you here, Isas. I was going to check up on Leon before telling the others of what Isamu, Shizko, and I managed to find." the nineteen year-old explained as she sat down on the foot of the bed.

"So you guys were searching for clues too? That's good." Isas replied with a kind smile.

His gray eyes glanced over to the unconscious nineteen year-old on the bed, prompting his companion to do the same as well.

"So how is he?" Mineko asked.

The black-haired teen crossed his arms with a sigh before answering "Still breathing, but hasn't shown any signs of waking. He was pretty badly injured though, so I'm not too surprised.

The music composer frowned with guilt filling her heart. She had really hoped that her friend would be awake already. As if to reinsure herself, she gently reached out and pressed her hand against Leon's chest. Her eyelids slid close when she could feel the weak yet still consistent beats of the teen's heart. She couldn't help but be overwhelmed with relief that the guy that saved her was still alive. The last thing she wanted was to be responsible for two unintentional deaths.

She remained silent for a few more minutes before finally reopening her eyes and said "Well I hope he pulls through. I don't know what I would do if I were to lose him after losing so many friends already."

Isas did not respond, instead opting to purse his lips together. The loving and caring look he could see shining in Mineko's eyes was a look he was too familiar with. But he never seen the light-brown-headed girl express such a look toward him, rather he had experienced it from Isamu giving him such a look. His eyes glanced back and forth between the music composer and the unconscious teen she continued to stare at. The teenage racer wasn't naive, he knew exactly the reason for the girl's actions. Over the two weeks they've remained trapped in killing game, he noticed how close the music composer and the baseball player grew.

What started as a simply acquaintance grew into friendship which soon developed into a close bond. With the events of the past few days still fresh in his mind, Isas had to wonder at what point did Mineko finally decide on her feelings toward the fiery red-head. Remembering why his companion had came to the room to the first place, Isas shook his head as he pushed his curiosity to the back of his mind. He believed there would be time to learn more about Mineko's feelings for Leon after they all escaped.

"So, you said that you, Isamu, and Shizko found something?" he asked.

Jolting in surprise at her companions voice, Mineko finally lifted her hand away from Leon's chest and answered "Yes and we finally know why we've been imprisoned in this factory."

Without any hesitation she everything about the file on the labtop. But as she explained, she failed to notice Isas' face slowly turned paler and paler with each word. By the time she finished with her explanation, she saw the nineteen year-old's face was now as pale as a sheet. A small frown managed to form on her face, both out of worry and confusion.

Deciding to find out what was wrong, she asked "Isas, is everything alright?"

In that instant, the racer's gray eyes snapped up to her. She grew more worried when she noticed the strange panicked look in his eyes.

Silence lingered in the air until, finally, Isas cleared his throat and answered "Yeah, just a little surprised at the Mastermind. That's all. Anyways, it's gotten pretty late. I'll see you guys in the morning."

The frown never left Mineko's face as she watched the teenage boy silently leave the room. She couldn't understand why he seemed so unnerved and panicked by her discovery. Unable to come up with a reason, she sighed before turning back toward Leon. With a small smile, she grabbed a hold of his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. She didn't know how long it would take, but she couldn't wait till the teen she grown to care for finally reawakens. Because once he finally does, she knew that would be the day they can all to work together to finally end the killing game.


	30. Chapter 30 - An Old Friend

Chapter 30

Leon groaned as he shifted on his bed. His head ached in pain, making it hard for him to recall what happened. But his confusion vanished in seconds; his mind instantly filled with memories of trying to stop Mineko's execution. A loud and frightened gasp escaped his mouth as his eyes snapped wide open. He quickly sat up, only to grow confused at his surroundings. Instead of being greeted with the white dirty walls of the factory, he found himself surrounded by eerily familiar red walls with band posters and bolted up windows.

Dread filled the red-head's heart as he pushed himself into a sitting position. But once he did, he froze when he noticed what he was wearing. Instead of his clothes he recalled wearing in the factory, he was dressed in the same attire he wore back when he attended Hope's Peak Academy. Many questions filled the nineteen year-old's mind as he tugged on the sleeve of his white jacket.

"What is goi-" he began to ask out loud till he found himself cut off by the sound of loud knocking.

Despite the sense of unease constantly growing within him, the nineteen year-old made his way to the door. When he reached out toward the doorknob, he instantly noticed how severely his hand was shaking. Gathering up his nerves the best as he could, he grabbed a hold of the doorknob and swung it open as fast as he could. At that moment, his face turned pale and his heart nearly stopped in fear. Panic raced through his mind when he found himself staring into a pair of blue eyes and a demented smile he had hoped never to see again.

Standing in the doorway was a teenage girl wearing a black blouse that exposed some of her chest, a red skirt, and black boots. A wide demented grin was painted on her face that was framed by a set of large pigtails.  
Leon couldn't believe what was happening or why the girl he believed was long dead was now standing before him. He tried to scamper backwards from the teenager, but discovered that his legs refused to move, keeping him rooted in place.

"Ah, Leon, that's no way to act to an old classmate and friend." the girl taunted with a laugh, "Aren't you happy to see your good old friend Junko Enoshima?"

Seeing he was unable to move away from the demented girl, Leon spat in a venomous tone "Like hell I consider you a friend! You stole away two years of my memories and forced me to play in a game that cost me and some of our friends their lives!"

"What, little old me cause that?" Junko asked, putting on the best cutest face she could muster in a high pitched and girlish tone.

The expression didn't last long as the despair filled girl burst out in a fit of laughter. Without warning, her hand managed to grab a hold of the baseball player by his chin. Her grin grew wider as she pressed her manicured red nails in the teen's skin, prompting a hiss of pain to escape from his mouth.

"You're probably wondering exactly why I'm here considering my despairful death." she began, her voice taking on a deeper and more serious tone, "Well the answer is, we're both dead. Well... you're almost dead but that's close enough."

Leon's eyes widened in shock as he listened to the demented teen explain the room he was in was currently something she cooked up during her time in limbo. He couldn't believe that the girl he despised never found the will to move onto the afterlife, resulting in her to remain trapped in limbo.

"If only my disciples were able to successfully keep the world plunged in despair. But of course, stupid Makoto had to come and totally ruin everything. The idea of losing to him is so despair inducing that I can't help but love and hate him for causing me to be stuck in this state." the girl proclaimed, her blue eyes practically filled with insanity, "But the downside is, it's so boring here! There's no one else to mess with and plunge into despair. Sure there was that lameo teacher and that wussy boxer, but they moved on after witnessing the one person they both care for survive his own killing game. Ever since then, I've had no one and it's so boring!"

Junko couldn't help but form a silly looking pout on her face with her blue eyes glancing up at her former friend that only stared at her with hatred.

"Oh look at you!" she teased as she finally released the red-head's chin and placed both of her hands on her hips, "Acting all like Mr. Tough and Cool Guy! It's almost like back when we were fellow classmates. Maybe a trip down memory lane would totally do us good!"

Leon was confused by the girl's words. Unfortunately he didn't have time to decipher there meaning when Junko, without warning, shoved her hands against his chest. The nineteen year-old yelled out in surprise, unable to stop himself from falling backwards. But much to his confusion, instead of hitting the floor, he found himself falling backwards into darkness. He had no idea how long he had fallen for until he felt something hard hit his back. Before he could even move to gather his bearings, lights instantly began turning on.

The baseball player tilted his head in curiosity, no longer seeing the surroundings of Hope's Peak Academy but rather a movie theater. Glancing around the area, he immediately noticed he was the only one seated in one of the many red seats. He didn't know what Junko was up to, but he didn't want to find out. Without any hesitation, he tried to sit up from his seat. But yet again, he found himself unable to move.

"Trying to leave before the movie starts? Talk about rude." a familiar voice rang in his ears.

With his teeth clenched the red-head turned to find himself face to face with the demented teen girl once more.

"Oh don't glare at me like that." Junko giggled tauntingly, tapping her index finger against his nose, "You can't deny you were pretty rude, especially when someone brought up how you totally don't hate baseball. You pretty much snapped at everyone, claiming that you so totally hated baseball. Well, almost everyone that is."

With the snap of her fingers, an image instantly appeared on the theater's screen.  
Despite the growing nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach, Leon's pale-blue eyes glanced toward the screen. His breath nearly hitched when he managed to see himself on the screen with Sayaka holding a baseball in her hands. Guilt from seeing the girl he had killed, the baseball player's body tensed as the memory played out.

 _"You know, for the Ultimate Baseball Star, I don't see you practicing much." Sayaka teased as her fingers ran over the ball in her hand, "You always liked watching me sing whether it be our practice sessions or just for pure entertainment. Maybe you should return the favor sometime. Treat me a few rounds and maybe even give me some tips?"_

 _Leon raised a brow at the blue-haired girl before proceeding to roll his eyes._

 _"Nah, don't feel like it. Besides, I don't need practice. I'm always at top notch skills. I'd rather pursue my dreams of being a musician." he replied with a grin, his hands resting behind his head._

 _The music idol giggled at the teen's word. Her blue eyes glanced down at the baseball in her hands, her thumb mindlessly tracing the red stitching. Without a word, her hand tightened around the ball. Taking in a deep breath, she winded her arm back. Putting all her might in the pitch as she sent it flying a short distance, resulting in the ball quickly hitting and rolling upon the ground. Once the ball stopped rolling, the teenage girl quickly picked it up before throwing it again._  
 _Leon watched as his friend kept repeating the action over and over again._

 _He grunted with the shake of his head, noticing many problems with the teen's pitching form. Unable to watch it anymore, he approached the singing idol whilst rubbing the back of his neck. He managed to take the baseball from his companion with a firm grip. A sigh managed to escape his mouth before he began explaining the proper stance in order to get that perfect pitch. Deciding to show and example, the red-head twisted his body slightly as he winded up for the pitch. Once he felt he was ready, he finally threw the ball, sending it flying at top speeds._

 _A cocky and pleased grin was painted on his face at seeing how far he had sent the ball flying, but it quickly vanished when he had realized what he had done. Spinning on his heel, Leon turned toward Sayaka to see her in a giggling fit._

 _"You were just doing that just to get me to me to play some baseball like you wanted me to." he accused with his arms firmly crossed._

 _The blue-haired girl giggled once more before replying "Yes, I knew you couldn't resist the urge to correct me. You may not admit it now, but I think a part of you still likes baseball. I'm not saying you need to quit our practice sessions. While your singing voice may be... um... 'unique', it's fun to sing with you. I just think it would be fun to watch you play and even teach me a bit."_

 _Her blue eyes seemed to shine with innocence as she turned toward the baseball player with a smile and asked "So, do you think maybe you can explain that pitch to me again?"_

A shuddered breath managed to escape Leon's mouth as he hunched over in his seat, unable to keep his gaze on the screen. He couldn't stand looking at such a kind smile, especially when his last memory of Sayaka had been her terrified face and her pained scream as the kitchen knife was plunged into her stomach.

"Oh my god, you were so naive!" Junko burst out into laughter with her legs kicking wildly, "It's no wonder you fell for the death trap of hers in the killing game. If silly Makoto wasn't paranoid and taken that sword to his room, you would have gotten killed from your own stupidity rather being exposed as a killer. Then again, that scenario could have been fun. I can just imagine it!"

With the snap of her fingers, a new image appeared on the screen.  
Leon immediately snapped his head up when he heard the sound of his own scream. The moment he looked up, he saw on the screen was his lifeless body with a knife stabbed into his chest with a horrified and guilty Sayaka standing over him. He tried to turn his head away, but unfortunately Junko had clasped both of her hands on each side of his head and forced him to stare at the screen.

He considered squeezing his eyes shut, but quickly discarded that idea when he felt the demented girl's nails dig into his skin slightly. Knowing that was her way of silently telling him to watch or else, he let out a defeated sigh before focusing on the screen. He watched as Sayaka was practically trembling, muttering to herself multiple times that she was doing what was necessary. He witnessed the teen idol on the screen scramble in order to hide all evidence of the murder pointing toward her, but in her panic, he noticed the teen girl forgot about the notepad and to switch back the name panels.

The events of his friends investigating his death seem to zoom by and before he knew it, the screen was already showcasing the trial for his murder. Like he imagined, it first started off with Makoto trying to direct suspicion away from Sayaka. A decision he considered stupid, just like when Shizko tried to remove all suspicion from Kiyoshi, but one he understood. As he continued to watch, he noticed the more and more Makoto's drive to protect Sayaka slowly died as Kyoko kept reminding him exactly what was at stake.

By the end of the trial, he watched as Makoto finally changed sides and helped pinpoint Sayaka as the killer. Leon's hands balled up into two firm fists at the sight of the horrified blue-haired girl who couldn't stop shaking in fear. The sight reminded him of himself when he had been pinpointed as the murderer. His body grew more tense with each second, his teeth clenched tightly. Before his eyes, he witness the teenage girl scream out in fear as she was pulled backwards by the chain collar clasped tightly around her neck.

He desperately wanted to look away. Even though he knew those events never happened, he still couldn't stand the sight of it. His heart pounded as he watched as Sayaka was forced to sing on stage, desperately trying to reach a high score on the scoreboard, unable to leave the stage due to the chained collar holding her in place. The numbers had almost reached the required high score but were unfortunately stopped with by Monokuma smashing the scoreboard with a hammer. The last thing Leon witnessed was Sayaka letting out one last scream before the remains of the score board fell on top of her. Feeling the demented girl finally release his head, the red-haired teen let out a shaky breath as he leaned over and dug his fingers into his hair.

"That was great! The despair on your face from watching that, I could stare at such a face for hours." Junko stated in a dreamy tone, hugging herself while doing so, "It may be boring here in limbo, but that makes any despair I can get all the more delicious!"

Leon did not respond to the pigtailed girl, instead taking in shaky breaths as his PTSD started kicking in.

The Ultimate Despair narrowed her eyes in disappointment. While she considered it amusing to watch the nineteen year-old slip into one of his many panic attacks, she didn't want it ruining the fun she had planned. A dark and devilish smirk formed on her face as yet another despairful idea entered her mind. With the snap of her fingers, a new image appeared on the theater screen.

Within a few seconds, a familiar voice with sweet tone echoing throughout the theater said "I want to help everyone here, I want us all to escape together!"

Leon sucked in a sharp breath as his head jolted upward. On the screen he could see Jin trying to plead with a terrified Kazuo.

"Wh-" the teen stared to mutter.

But he never got to finish it, finding himself interrupted by Junko forcing herself on his lap and casually resting one of her arms on his shoulder much to his disgust.

"We've gone down old memory lane. We should totally check out your new memories with your new 'precious' friends!" the strawberry blonde said.

A large grin formed on her face as she watched Kazuo smash his guitar against Jin's head, killing her instantly.

"Okay so maybe the guy controlling Monokuma is so boring. I mean gah, he doesn't even let the despair settle. That's the problem with him, he would rather see the conflict than the despair. I so wanted to see that Jin girl despair more, but she managed to get knocked off by no brains. At least their deaths were still full of despair! Puhuhu!" Junko stated with glee, just in time for the scene of Kazuo coughing up blood upon his death.

Leon considered ignoring the demented girl's words, flinching as he was greeted with the sight of Kiyoshi stabbing Hisoka to death. But then his eyes widened, realizing in the teen's horrible sentence was a crucial fact.

Wanting to confirm his suspicions, he asked "You know who the Mastermind is?"

"Duh!" the pigtailed girl replied at the same time Kiyoshi screamed before the piano fell on her, "Just cause I'm stuck in limbo doesn't mean I can't see everything that's going else. How else would I know that the world is so boring now with it... ugh... new hopeful nature?"

The red-head couldn't believe what he was hearing while doing his best to block out the sounds of Seiichi strangling a struggling Hideaki. The fact that Junko referred to the Mastermind as "he" meant the Mastermind was none other than male. His mind quickly sorted through remaining participants in the game. He now could confirm none of the girls were the Mastermind, crossing them off the list as theater footage finished showing Seiichi strangling Hiroko to death. That only left the remaining boys in the killing game. He immediately knew it wasn't Toshiro, Monokuma had confirmed that much. Which means only Naoko and Isas remained as suspects.

But before he could theorize which of the two could possibly be the Mastermind, the sound of laughter interrupted his thoughts.

"I can practically see the gears turning in your head! It's so hilarious seeing you try to figure out who the Mastermind is even though you most likely won't have any way to tell your buddies!" Junko laughed as the theater screen showed Seiichi getting impaled by the spikes, "Your ghostly friend even tossed hints your way, yet you still haven't figured it out! How dunce are you?! Ha ha ha!"

"Well if you're so happy about not being in the dark then tell me who the Mastermind is! You seem confident I'm going to die and be trapped in this hellhole with you!" Leon snapped out of bitterness.

Anger boiled in teen until it slowly was replaced by nervousness. He couldn't stand the sight of the demented yet sly grin painted on the girl's face, making him fear exactly what the girl was planning. Silence filled the air except for the sounds of the theater screen showcasing Hideyo's lifeless body tumbling down the stairs.

After a few moments of silence, Junko finally said "Better yet, how about we have a trial? For old time's sake eh?"


	31. Chapter 31 - The Fifth Trial

Chapter 31

"A what?!" Leon exclaimed.

"Ugh. You know the thing that proved your guilt and you was all like 'Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stu-'" Junko replied, lowering her voice to try to match the pitch of the baseball player.

"I know what a trial is!" the red-head snapped, interrupting the demented teenage girl as he continued, "What I mean is why do you want a trial? You can't even kill anyone here! For someone to get stuck here they would have to be dead or, in my case, almost dead! Knowing you, there's some kind of trick in store."

Junko snickered with a sly grin of her face, her grin only growing wider when she noticed how much she disturbed the teen before her with her presence alone. While she was disappointed she could no longer have anyone experience the despair of death, a despair she considering thrilling and heartpounding, she knew of other ways to make one despair. With having no one to torment in order to plunge into despair, she didn't want to pass up the opportunity to plunge her former friend into despair once again. After all, she believed there were some things were more despairful than death.

Deciding to unsettle the teen even further, mustering the cutest and most innocent face she could muster, she leaned up toward the teen's face and said in her girlish tone "Little ol' me pull tricks. Oh you're such a meanie. Why would I do that?"

Leon's teeth clenched tightly together with his pale-blue eyes glared hatefully at the teenage girl. He refused to fall for any of her tricks. With memories from both before and during the killing game, he knew the strawberry-blonde too well. He could remember her manipulative nature and how she could easily wrap anyone around her finger.  
Seeing the teenage boy refused to budge from his stance, Junko let out an annoyed sigh. Within seconds she shoved herself off the teen's lap, turning to face him and lounging against the back of one of the theater seats.

"How about this?" she began with an annoyed sigh, "You do the trial and I may drop a few hints behind the Mastermind of your current killing game. To prove I'm serious, here's the first hint. The Mastermind is a famous figure in Japan, his name is known far and wide."

Leon's features slightly softened in surprise at the girl's words. At that moment, he found himself conflicted. He didn't want to accept Junko's terms for a trial, yet he wanted to know exactly who to blame for the death of his friends. He hated the fact the despair filled girl managed to give him a crucial clue to the Mastermind's identity, yet still remain vague. With Naoko and Isas being both Ultimates, it was obvious that would make them both famous figures in Japan. He remained silent as he considered his options until finally his curiosity had won over his hatred. No matter how much he hated Junko, he wanted any clue he could get.

A victorious smirk formed on Junko's face, her eyes narrowed in delight. She knew the teen couldn't resist the urge to learn more information about the Mastermind. Without a word, she snapped her fingers. In that instant, the theater screen behind her split apart to reveal an elevator shaft.  
The red-head took in a deep breath as he watch the elevator doors slowly open. Knowing it was too late to change his mind, he got out of his seat and made his way to the elevator. He did his best to keep a calm appearance despite his heart constantly pounding out of fear and nervousness.

His body tensed as he finally stepped into an elevator. He had already been nervous when he had to ride the elevator the previous times, but he considered it ten times worse now that he was forced to stand with Junko. He didn't utter a word as the demented teen entered the elevator with the doors closing behind her. At that moment, the elevator began to descend at abnormal speeds, prompting Leon to brace himself to prevent loosing balance. It didn't take long for the elevator to finally reach its destination and open its doors. Once the doors were open, the baseball player grimaced slightly when he was greeted with the sight of the very same courtroom where he first lost his life.

"I see you noticed the design. Figured some good old nostalgia was proper for this trial! Am I right or what?" Junko taunted whilst painfully jabbing her elbow into the teen's sides.

The red-head jerked away from the teenage girl before responding in a hateful tone "Given my choices, I'm going with 'Or What'."

The strawberry-blonde rolled her eyes before approaching the sixteen stands arranged in a circle. Her blue eyes shined with mischievousness as she sprinted over to her stand placed in front of Monokuma's throne and gave a taunting wave.  
Leon's body was tense as he approached his assigned stand. He still didn't know exactly why Junko wanted a trial or what the trial would even be about.

Seeing the teenage boy was now in his proper place, Junko announced in her best Monokuma expression "Puhuhu! So it's time to begin the trial for Leon Kuwata in order to decide, was he truly trying to help out his friends or was he simply looking out for himself?"

The athlete inhaled sharply as he stared in horror at the girl across from him. He didn't understand why she wanted a trial to decipher the meaning behind his actions. While it was true he was concerned about dying to the killing game yet again, he had grown close to his fourteen companions. Even the ones he only got to know for a day managed to become good friends in some sort of way, making their deaths all the more painful to him. Everything he had done in the trial wasn't only for his sake, but for his friends as well. That had been the driving force when he refused to allow Monokuma to kill yet another one of his friends.

"If I was only looking out for myself, I wouldn't have even offered my experience from the previous killing game to help the others know what to watch for. But despite that, I couldn't predict some of the murders! There's no way I could have stopped them!" he immediately defended himself.

The strawberry-blonde had a dangerous glint in her eyes as she raised her hand in front of her face, lowering her voice as she slipped into one of her many personalities and said "Are you so sure about that ball boy? What about your friend Jin Kaoru? Are you absolutely sure her death was unavoidable?"

Leon clenched his teeth down hard; he wasn't expecting Junko to bring up Jin. He didn't see how he could have prevented the fashion designer's death. He wanted to, but he had no way of knowing that the nineteen year-old would sneak out of her room at night.

His mind was filled conflict and confusing, wondering why the Ultimate Despair had brought up Jin as a point until he heard a familiar voice say "You could have let me stay in your room for the night."

Upon hearing the voice, the teenage boy snapped his head up to see none other than Jin behind one of the stands. Disbelief filled his mind as he stared at the girl who had died over two weeks ago. He didn't know if it was truly her spirit or if it was Junko pulling yet another trick. Either way, the sight of the deceased girl left his heart pounding. His eyes widened as the girl questioned why he hadn't offered to stay with him for the night in order to make sure she was okay. If he had done that, then she wouldn't have been able to follow Kazuo to her death.

The red-head desperately tried to come up with counterargument, but after searching his mind, he realized he had none. Nervous sweat formed on his brow with his body trembling slightly. It unnerved him to come to the realization that he could have saved Jin. Unfortunately, his despair only grew when he heard Jin utter something that sent him into complete shock.

"I know why you didn't invite me to stay with you. It's because you'd thought I'd be yet another Sayaka." Jin stated, her voice transforming into a more hateful tone.

In that instant, the blonde-headed girl's appearance began to change. Her eyes became lifeless as a large amount of blood starting pooling at the back of her head and dripping down her body, giving her the exact appearance of when her lifeless body had been discovered.

"You killed me! You killed me! You could have saved me but you let your cowardice control your actions! You made the same mistake again! You turned me into yet another Sayaka!" she screamed in a hateful tone.

Leon took in shallow breaths as he stared at the bloody girl. He didn't want to believe he was responsible for Jin's death. Yet no matter how much he tried to convince himself, a small part of him kept insisting that he was the one at fault.

"Don't forget me dude!" another familiar voice spoke up, "Totally unradical how you didn't even try to watch me. You knew that whack motive affected me bro!"

Turning his head, the baseball player managed to find Kazuo behind a stand with lifeless eyes and blood coming out of his ears and mouth. His body trembled as he watched his deceased friends appear one by one behind the stands. He saw a bloody Hisoka scolding him for not being more concerned about the nurse's office. He saw a bloody and bruised Kiyoshi demand why he hadn't checked on her despite knowing the motive was meant for her. He saw Hideaki and Hiroko with markings around their necks asking why the teen had never cooperated with them more. He saw a bruised and full of holes Seiichi asking why he had never checked who used the motive. Finally he saw Hideyo with a broken neck asking why he never told the truth about Toshiro not being the mastermind.

Leon began to take in quick and frantic breaths whilst his fingers dug into his hair, his eyes darting back and forth between his dead friends. He swore he could almost feel Junko's confident and excited smirk burn into him, prompting him to dig his fingers deeper into his hair.

 _"Was I really looking out for myself? I don't know anymore. Gah, Junko always has this way of keeping people from thinking straight!"_ he thought to himself with his fingers grasping tightly onto his spiked red hair, _"I didn't want them to die, but she's bring up valid points. I freaking hate how calculated she is. She had been watching this entire time, of course she knows exactly what buttons to press with me! I just want some kind of clarity, something to help clear my mind."_

The nineteen year-old felt lost amidst his thoughts. He didn't know if his actions were selfish or for the benefit of the others. He had risked his life to save Mineko, but had to endure through already too much death to reach that point. Once again, he felt like that very same teenager that held a kitchen knife in his trembling hand, wanting to do nothing more than protect himself. It made him wonder if he truly deserved a second chance if there was a risk of him repeating the mistakes of his past.

Just when he was about to lose all hope, a familiar voice shouted "Don't give up, Leon."

His pale-blue eyes glanced up to no longer see the bloody Jin. Instead it was Jin with her normal appearance but instead a face of anger she wore earlier, it was now a face of sadness and worry.

"You can't listen to her, Leon! It's not your fault I died!" the girl insisted in a worried tone.

Leon couldn't help but raise his brows in surprise. The way the fashion designer's voice sounded so broken and worried, it sounded exactly like the tone the teenage girl expressed on the night she died. There was no longer any doubt in his mind. The Jin he had seen earlier was nothing more than one of Junko's tricks while the one before him was the real Jin.

"Huh, how the heck did you get here and if you've been here, why did I not find you?!" Junko exclaimed, shocked by the fashion designer's appearance.

The blonde-headed teen did not reply, instead choosing to turn toward her red-headed friend. Concern and regret filled her voice as she continued to reinsure him. Even if he had chosen to have her stay in his room for the night, she believed that wouldn't have prevented her death. She had been too worried that night and would have found a way to sneak out of the room regardless. She didn't blame anyone for her death but herself. She knew the dangers and had accepted the risk of roaming the factory at night.

"You know the babe's right dude. Even if you had talked to me, probably wouldn't have stopped me from sneaking out at night. My whole life is all about rock and roll, I can't help but rock on!" another voice piped up.

Glancing over to his left he managed to see the fake Kazuo replaced by the real one flashing his typical smirk. His eyes glanced around the room as he watched each of the fakes get replaced by the real versions of his friends; each of them reinsuring that he had done all that he could and wasn't being selfish. A relieved smile managed to form on his face and he inhaled deeply. He couldn't help but feel silly for being so worried.

 _"I had been so sacred of my past, not wanting to repeat it. Yet I was allowing myself to fall into that fear. I won't let the past dictate my actions any more. I'm always going to be terrified of that execution, it's not something easy to forget. But screw cowering in fear in the present, time to live my life for once!"_

With confidence filling him, Leon turned toward Junko with a stern glare.

"Enough tricks, Junko! We made a deal. Now you will tell me exactly what you know about the Mastermind!" he demanded.

Junko pursued her lips in a disappointment while she accessed her situation. She had hoped to plunge the baseball player into despair by forcing him to blame himself for his friends' deaths. Unfortunately for her, that part of her plan fell apart due to not accounting for the fact the original spirits would still be lingering in limbo. Her mind quickly sorted through the different possible scenarios. If she wanted to succeed, she had to come up with something that would keep the spirits of the deceased participants silent. At that moment, a dangerous grin formed on her face.

"Alright, after all I am a woman of my word." Junko replied in a fake british tone, "But it wouldn't feel right just telling you, the Mastermind worked hard to conceal his identity. So get those gears turning because if you want to learn who the Mastermind is, you got to put together the facts!"

Before anyone could react, the strawberry-blonde had changed personalities again, with a pair of glasses on. Her voice shifted in a soft one trying to sound smart as she went over the clues that were gathered over the course of the killing game. She explained how the Mastermind was a male that did confirm that he was one of the participants in the killing game. The Mastermind attended Hope's Peak Academy and most like studied up on the killing game of Hope's Peak Academy due to records of the tragic event being accessible at the academy itself.

Leon's face hardened, slightly annoyed the demented girl was dancing around the question. He glanced around at his deceased companions, noticing the look of support they were directing toward him. He knew they already had knowledge of the Mastermind's identity, but wished for him to beat Junko at her own game. Wanting to get back at Junko for the pain she caused and honor his friends' wishes, he accepted the challenge. Recalling his thought process, he remembered that he had narrowed down to the Mastermind being either Naoko or Isas.

Yet he couldn't help but find himself confused by this. He knew Isas claimed he was still attending Hope's Peak Academy while Naoko had claimed that he hadn't got the chance to attend due to being kidnapped. He wondered if there was the chance that one of them could be lying, after all they had no proof to back their statements. But after a few seconds, he brushed away this thought. In his mind, two things seemed to contradict the thought of either of the two teens lying. With Naoko, he had admitted to trying to kill Shizko after Monokuma told him what had happened to his mother.

The baseball player knew the sprint runner wouldn't make up a lie that could easily be disconfirmed by sculptor herself. If the nineteen year-old had truly been the Mastermind, it would go against how careful the Mastermind had been in order to keep his identity a secret. It would be the equivalent of holding up a sign. Then there was Isas; someone he considered had no reason to lie. Isas had proven to be nothing more than caring and wishing to put an end to the killing game. his actions seemed too genuine to the red-head for them to be nothing more than an act.

But with both of the teenage boys appearing innocent in his eyes, he realized he had no more suspects. Leon let out a sigh whilst tapping his fingers on his stand. He knew there had to be an explanation for why none of the hints seemed to point toward any of his remaining companions being the Mastermind. He could easily remember Monokuma's smug words when he had confirmed he was a participant from the beginning. Yet he didn't understand how the Mastermind could be a participant if none of the clues seemed to point to one of the fifteen participants. At that moment, his eyes snapped widened in realization.

 _"Wait, fifteen? The Mastermind made it clear he wanted to be as accurate to Junko's killing game as possible. So why fifteen unless-"_ he thought to himself.

Leon let out a deep sigh as his hands curled up into two firm fists. He couldn't believe he hadn't realized it earlier, especially with his memories of the previous killing game.

With his pale-blue eyes glaring at Junko, he finally answered "In your killing game, you were technically a participant even if you were hiding in the shadows controlling everything. The Mastermind went to painful lengths to make sure his killing game was near identical to yours. So it wouldn't make sense for there to be only fifteen participants. When the Mastermind told me he was a participant since the beginning, he wasn't lying. The Mastermind has to be the sixteenth participant in this killing game."

"Bingo, you got it right!" Junko exclaimed in a rough voice and her tongue sticking out, "The Mastermind is the sixteenth participant that's been hiding in the shadows all this time while you guys slaughtered each other. But you still need a name, as in tell me the poser's name!"

The red-head's breath hitched as he froze in shock. He didn't know the Mastermind's name. The closest thing he had to the name was the video where Takechi Kichiro managed to yell out "Sa-" before his death. Yet unfortunately, that wasn't enough to point toward the Mastermind's full name. Especially since the name and even Ultimate status was censored on the graduate file he and Hiroko found.

"Have no idea huh?" the demented girl stated in a fake disappointed tone, "I was so hoping you would figure it out. It would be boring if me or one of your dead friends told you his name. Oh well, guess that makes you a loser in this trial and we all know what happens to those that lose their trial."

At first Leon was confused and slightly unnerved by the girl's words until, suddenly, he felt a metal collar clasp around his neck. A horrified gag escaped his mouth as he instantly jerked his hands toward his neck, memories of his horrifying execution filling his mind. The last thing he saw was Junko smirking at him in delight whilst his friends were rushing toward him before being pulled backwards into the darkness. His mind constantly begged and pleaded for any kind of help as the familiar feelings of panic and fear rushed through him.

It only took a few seconds until he finally felt his back hit a pole whilst the collar kept him pinned in place. His eyes were wide in panic as he took in frantic breaths. While he knew he couldn't die in the limbo, the thought of him reliving his execution was horrifying. What made it even more horrifying for him was the possibility of him dying in the real world. If he died that would mean he would be trapped in limbo forever with Junko. His body shuddered as a frightened whimper managed to escape his mouth. Being forced to endure through his execution over and over again was a fate he considered worst than death.

His face paled when the hauntingly familiar rumble of the automatic pitcher turning on and loading many baseballs filled the air. Knowing what would happened next, he squeezed his eyes shut, preparing himself for the pain that awaited him. Anxious filled seconds seemed like ages to the teenage boy until finally, the pitcher fired the first ball. Leon squeezed his tighter, ready to feel the painful sting of the ball hitting his body. But much to his surprise, he never felt the pain come. Instead he only heard the baseball pitcher shut off and the sound of a familiar feminine voice.

Worried that he was experiencing another one of Junko's trick, he slowly opened his eyes. But once he did, his heart felt like stopping both out of shock and disbelief. Standing before him was a teenage girl with blue hair holding the baseball that had been fired at him.

The baseball player was shocked by the sight of the teen girl, causing him to only to be able to utter in a shaky tone "Sayaka?"

 **Killing Game Students - 8 Remain**


	32. Chapter 32 - Promises

Chapter 32

Leon didn't know what to say or feel as he stared the blue-haired teen. He swallowed the best as he could, unable to quite rid himself of the lump forming in his throat due to the collar still firmly clasped around it. He couldn't help but flinch as he watched Sayaka reach out and release his neck from the metal collar. Once his neck was freed, he immediately gasped, taking in deep breaths as he fell to his knees.

"Hey are you okay?" he heard her sweet sounding voice ask out of concern.

The red-head's hands curled up into two fists as he forced his head to stare at the ground. He couldn't bare to give the teenage girl eye contact, especially when he had been the one to kill her. His breath hitched when he felt both of her hands press up against the sides of his head, gently forcing him to look up at her. Once he did, he could see the teenage girl staring at him with her eyes filled with both stern and sadness. The nineteen year-old bit down on his lip hard, feeling the guilt he had carried for over twenty years weigh heavily on his shoulders.

"Leon, we really need to talk." Sayaka spoke up, snapping the teen out of his thoughts, "Given the unique circumstances we really need to confront what happened that night in Makoto's room."

A tired sigh managed to escape Leon's mouth. He knew the singing idol would want to discuss her death, but he still dreaded it at the same time. He could only imagine the hatred and anger the teenage girl held toward him for claiming her life.

In an attempt to buy time, he asked "What about Junko? She won't be happy about what you just did."

Much to his surprise, a small smile formed on Sayaka's face as she responded "I think I can handle Junko. I've been here in limbo with her for over twenty years. She isn't the only one that learned her own tricks whilst trapped in limbo. How else do you think she failed to notice your deceased friends and I were here in the first place?"

The baseball player pursed his lips nervously. Seeing he had no other choice, he slowly got to his feet. Slowly the surroundings of the batting cage began to fade, transforming into the surroundings of Makoto's room. His teeth clenched down hard when he noticed the image frozen in time of him with the knife in his hands while standing over a lifeless Sayaka.

"Over the twenty years I've spent in limbo, I've never stopped thinking about this moment." the blue-haired teen began in a somber tone.

Her eyes remained focus on the scene before her as she began speaking her mind. The moment she had died, she had found herself filled with memories from the two years that were stolen from her. She was able to recall being friends with her classmates, her joyful school memories, and even the ones that she had grown to love. A shaky sigh managed to escape her mouth as she continued on. She could remember experiencing the thoughts of shock, sadness, and regret rushing through her all at once.

"I had chose to remain in limbo, waiting so that I can finally say this one thing to you..." she started, prompting Leon to flinch in anticipation, "I'm sorry."

Leon blinked in shock before banging the side of his head to make sure he had heard correctly. He didn't believe she had anything to apologize for. While she had tried to kill him, he had been the one that ultimately made the kill. Refusing to allow the teenage girl to blame herself, he began pouring out all the apologies he held back over the years. He apologized for being scared, wishing he had chosen to try to talk things out instead of giving into his fear. He only wished he could go back and fix his mistake, but he knew that was impossible. The only thing he could do was move on and use that mistake to help guide him in the future.

His pale-blue eyes glanced up to see Sayaka staring at him in shock. Suddenly, without warning, he saw the teenage girl pull him into a firm hug. His mouth wordlessly dropped open as he could hear the faint sobbing from his shoulder. Uncertainty filled him as he slowly lifted his arms and wrapped them around her. Reinsurance from Sayaka filled his ears, telling him that he didn't to apologize, believing they both made mistakes and therefore both share the blame for their demise. Leon inhaled sharply with many emotions of relief, sadness, regret, and forgiveness rushing through him. He couldn't help but tighten his hug around the teenage girl.

"You have no idea how painful the wait has been. All I could do was watch you and interact with your surroundings. I never could talk to you unless it was through possession." Sayaka muttered into the red-head's shoulder, "It was fun to watch you grow up, but painful to watch you suffer through your panic attacks, especially in your current killing game."

"You've been watching me?" the baseball player questioned in surprise.

The blue-haired teen pulled back whilst nodding her head in reply. In that instant, the surroundings of Makoto's room transformed into those of the factory. With the wave of her hand, different transparent images appeared. The group of fifteen teens all standing in front of the locked door, Leon discovering Jin's body, Hiroko and Leon discovering the file, and Leon hiding in the closet.

"You had thought the one helping you all this time was the ghost of the girl that gave you your second chance." Sayaka began in a stern tone, "You were wrong. She hasn't been here ever since the Tragedy ended. With barely any despair in the world, she had finally felt at peace to move onto the next life. I on the other hand couldn't move on, not as long as I still carried my guilt. So I decided to make it up to you the only way I could; I decided to watch over you and help you in this killing game."

Leon was left speechless by the girl's confession. He now knew all those times his eyes had made contact with blue eyes that it was none other than Sayaka helping him. A mixture of a laugh and sob managed to escape his mouth as he held the teenage girl against his chest. The thought that Sayaka still cared for him despite his actions deeply touched him. He wanted nothing more than to say "Thank you." yet still couldn't find the strength to do so. Instead he chose to remain silent as he held the singing idol in his embrace.

Sayaka sighed as she fell deeper into his embrace. There was so much time she wanted to catch up on, so many things she wanted to tell him over the twenty years. But sadly, she knew the nineteen year-old couldn't stay any longer. She knew he had remained in limbo for far too long and it was time for him to return to his friends that still needed his help. She pulled out of the hug but gently held the teen's head in her hands.

"It's time for you to help your new friends, Leon. Go help them escape. Also please tell Mineko to take care of you, I can tell she has grown quite fond of you." she said with a smile.

Leon couldn't help but chuckle as he commented "I noticed. She is a nice girl, but nothing compared to you. Just know that should my relationship with her become closer. Thank you, Sayaka, for forgiving me. I hope helping these guys survive will finally make up for what I did."

"And I hope that my spiritual guidance will make up for what I did. We both made mistakes that night. It's time we make amends and use those mistakes to look toward the future." the blue-haired teen replied.

Leon watched as his surroundings began to fade away. Before he slipped into the darkness once more, he swore he could feel Sayaka lightly press her lips on his. He wasn't sure if she had truly kissed him due to his senses slipping away all too soon. He wasn't sure how long he remained in darkness until the sound of voices reached his ears. He grunted as he tried to make them out. Fortunately the voices were becoming more clearer with each second. He grunted once more only to hear the voices stop and instead the sound of footsteps rushing toward him.

One by one his senses returned. He could feel extreme pain in his back and shoulders along with cloth tightly wrapped around his chest. His shifted his fingers a bit to feel bed sheets underneath them. Finally, after a few seconds, he managed to open his eyes. He groaned the second he was greeted with a bright light, prompting him to blink his eyes a few times. After a few moments, he was greeted with the sight of Mineko and Isas standing over him with relief painted on their faces.

"Leon, thank god you're finally awake." Mineko exclaimed as she hug him, only to quickly release the teen when she heard him yelp in pain.

Her face blushed in both embarrassment and apology as she helped the red-head sit up right once more.

"How long was I out?" Leon groaned whilst trying to stretch his sore muscles.

"If I recall correctly, you have been in your coma for over a week." Isas stated as he checked over the bandages.

The baseball player groaned in annoyance, reaching his hand up to rest against his forehead. He couldn't believe that he had remained unconscious for an entire week. Figuring he might as well catch up on the events he missed, he asked his two companions if Monokuma had announced anything during the week. Much to his surprise, Isas had revealed that Monokuma had fallen silent once again. It pleased him slightly to learn his actions managed to cause the robotic bear to snap with anger, but he was worried about it at the same time.

If there was anything he learned about the Mastermind behind the controls was that he was prone to have a short temper if things didn't go his way. Deciding to check up on other events, he had asked what everyone had been doing during his time of unconsciousness. Once again he found himself surprised when Isas revealed that he had been carrying out of a full out search of the factory.

"When Mineko mentioned Sachio Construction, I knew the name sounded familiar. But I wanted to before sure, just in case we weren't hastily jumping headfirst into this situation. So we've been searching every room of the factory. Nothing has turned up so far, leaving the only room left to search is the Business Room. Still, if my suspicions are correct then I know exactly who the Mastermind is. After all, it's hard not to hear about the guy with him being one of the most famous Ultimates to graduate from Hope's Peak Academy." the racer stated in a stern tone.

Leon raised his brows in surprise, finding himself impressed with the black-haired teen. He had always known Isas to be level-headed and take charge, but never did he manage he could run operations smoothly without any problems. He grunted in pain once more as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. He was tired of staying in bed, especially since that was all he did for the week. He wanted to do his part in exposing the Mastermind. Within a few seconds, he managed to pull back on his shirt and jacket before rising to his feet.

"Well let's give it a look. Maybe we'll be lucky and not run into Monokuma." he suggested.

He smiled a bit when he saw his friends happily agree with him. His mind was set and there was no turning back. Without a word, the trio left the room and made there way to the Business Room. It only took a few minutes for the group of teens to arrive at their destination. Once there, much to Leon's surprise, he found Isamu already poking around the unoccupied Business Room.  
The robotics expert gasped in surprise when she saw the red-head now awake and well before she dashed over to him and gently hugged him.

"Leon! Oh we were all so worried about you! We weren't sure if you were going to pull through." the teenage girl voiced her relief.

"Yeah." the athlete hissed in a pained reply, "Still pretty sore though."

Immediately understanding that his body was still aching from his healing wounds, the sandy-blonde headed teen apologized before turning her attention to Isas. With pride and happiness in her voice, she announced how she had been searching the Business Room for clues. She had found nothing leading to the Mastermind's identity, but what she did find was a hidden button underneath the desk Monokuma usually sat at.

"I didn't want to test it until someone else is with me. Since you three are here, I think it's the perfect opportunity to try it out!" she stated with the clap of her hands.

Believing that the button was important, Isas nodded his head, silently giving his companion permission. His heart pounded in nervousness, slightly terrified of finding clues to the Mastermind. If his suspicions were correct, he knew that would mean the Mastermind that had subjected them to this cruel game was a man many of the students of Hope's Peak academy admired. He could recall his peers often speaking fondly of the Ultimate, commenting how kind he was and how they wanted to strive to be just like him. It angered and disappointed him to think that Graduate had been merely putting on an act to fool everyone, just like Junko Enoshima all those years ago.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when the sound of a click filled the air. His silver eyes glancing upwards, he watched as the back wall split apart to reveal a hidden door. He sighed in disappointment and shook his head, once again noticing the parallels between the Mastermind and Junko Enoshima's tactics. Silently he approached the hidden door. He took in a deep yet slightly breath, preparing himself for what he would find before pushing the door open. With the door open, his eyes were greeted with the sight of many security screens, a control panel with a microphone, and sixteen files scattered across a table.

"I think it's safe to say this has been where the Mastermind has been watching us." Mineko commented as she approached the security screens, "It's like Hiroko had theorized, every room was being filmed except for bathrooms and the shower rooms."

"Do you think the Mastermind is broadcasting this killing game just like Junko did?" Isamu asked with a frown.

Leon narrowed his eyes as he studied the room, turning his head to glance around. But the moment he did, his heart nearly stopped. To his right he managed to spot a wall with many metal doors and lights on them. It was clear that wall wasn't originally part of the factory, especially with how brand new and clean the small doors looked. Fearing what the doors were, yet still wanting to confirm, he approached the nearest door. He sucked in a sharp breath before quickly opening up the door. Upon doing so, he felt his stomach immediately drop. Opening the metal door resulted in a table to slide out with none other than the bloody and deceased body of Kazuo. The baseball player grimaced whilst taking a few steps away from the lifeless body, finding it even more gruesome now that he had gotten a closer look.

"Figures he wanted to store the bodies in a morgue." he muttered to himself as he slowly pushed the table back into its slot and closed the door, "If he left the bodies lying out in the open, they would have started rotting. The smell most likely would attract many nearby animals and cause people to become suspicious."

But the second Leon finished his thought, he failed to see a figure in a black cloak with a knife in hand and a Monokuma mask hiding their face behind him.  
Fortunately, Isas had turned just in time to see the figure raising the knife, ready to attack the unsuspecting teen.

"Leon!" the racer cried out, prompting both the baseball player and the masked figure direct their attention toward him.

Without any hesitation, he lunged for the figure and tackled him to the floor. His teeth clenched tightly as he rolled and tumbled, trying to steal away the knife. He could see glimpses of Leon rushing toward him in an attempt to try to help fight off the mask figure. He rolled on the floor one last time before successfully pinning the figure to the floor. His silver eyes quickly scanned for the knife, but much to his shock he couldn't spot it. Suddenly, before he could even react, he felt a sharp blade pierce his chest.

Isas gasped with his eyes wide, leaning back to see the cloaked figure had managed to stab him in the chest. Feeling his strength quickly leave him, he fell backwards onto the floor. His surroundings began to fade, barely being able to make out the figure successfully shoving Leon away and disappearing behind yet another hidden door. He could feel his blood soaking his white shirt and his heart beat slower and slower. Weakly he looked up to see Isamu kneeling next to him. It broke his heart to see her sobbing and begging him to stay awake. Using what strength he had left, he reached up and pressed his hand against the robotic expert's cheek. His mouth curved into a weak yet happy smile.

"I'm sorry I couldn't leave this place with all of you." Isas muttered in a quiet tone, "Expose the Mastermind, not just for me, but for everyone that's died. I want you all to survive, especially you, Isamu. Please don't die in here. You have to live."

With the last of words, the racer's final breath escaped his mouth as he slid his eyes close forever.  
Isamu broke down crying, tightly gripping the lifeless teen's hand in her own with tears streaming down her face.

"I promise, Isas." she sobbed quietly, hugging the teen's hand against her face, "I will survive, for you."

Neither Leon nor Mineko said a word as they silently mourned for their deceased friend. They had hoped he would survive, but in the end, they had lost their dear friend Isas Ken.

 **Killing Game Participants - 7 Remain**


	33. Chapter 33 - The Ultimate Businessman

Chapter 33

Leon remained silent as he stared at the lifeless body of of Isas Ken. He had realized that if Isas hadn't acted immediately, it would have been him lying on the floor dead. After all, the masked attacker had been after him originally until Isas entered a struggle with them. Suddenly his thoughts were shattered by the sound of the body announcement going off on the intercoms. He noted the delay it took for the announcement to appear, believing it was cause the Mastermind had to rush to a back up room to due his main room of operations being exposed. With that line of thought, it did explain why the masked figure escaped through yet another hidden passage.

Recalling the hidden passage, Leon walked over to the hidden door in the wall. Unfortunately, when he tried to pull on the handle, the door refused to budge. The red-head figured that the door had a lock on the other side, that way the masked figure could insure that they wouldn't be followed when they fled the room. Knowing there was nothing else he could do for the moment, he turned away from the door. But when he did this; he managed to turned just in time to see Naoko, Shizko, and Toshiro rush into the room. He frowned slightly when he saw the horrified and confused expressions painted on their faces from seeing Isas' body.

Toshiro's face paled the moment he was greeted with the sight of the lifeless racer's body. Out of everyone he met in the killing game, Isas was the last person he had ever expected to die. It was true the two didn't get along, especially when the black-haired teen was willing to show aggression in response to his attitude to the executions. But it was still hard for him to believe both Isas and Hideyo, two individuals that were willing to straighten him up, were both killed in a deadly game he took lightly. A shaky sigh escaped his mouth as he pulled off his green hat off his head. He wished he could thank the two teens for showing him the error of his ways, but sadly he knew he never will get the chance.

All of the sudden, the sound of familiar laughter the teens now despised filled the air. All of them turned to see Monokuma sitting in the chair set in front of the security screens. The black and white bear took a moment to glance at the racer's lifeless body before snickering in amusement.

"So Mr. Strong and Noble got it in the end after all? Such a shame. He could have lived if he let the one that ruined Mineko's execution die like he was supposed to." the robotic bear chuckled.

"Have you've come here just to mock us for that sole reason?" Shizko snarled in anger.

"Nah, that's only part of it." Monokuma replied in a smug tone, "The main reason I've showed up is the reason why I show up after every murder. So basically, I'm here to give you guys the Monokuma File so that way you guys can investigate in order to come to a conclusion on who will be the blackened for this trial."

Isamu bit down on her lip hard, her trembling hands still clutching tightly onto Isas'.

"Why do we need a trial for that reason?" she asked, fighting the urge to allow her voice to waver with a choked sob, "We all know the Mastermind controlling you is the one that murdered Isas! So why hold a trial if we're already all aware of who the killer is?!"

The robotics expert struggled to hold a brave expression as the bear's chuckles rang through her ears. Unfortunately, her confidence and bravery shattered when Monokuma had asked her for the name of the Mastermind. Her body trembled violently as her grip tightened around Isas' hand, almost as if she had hoped he would wake back up and calm her down like he had always done. Sadly though, she knew that would never happen again and with no kind of inkling as to the Mastermind's identity, she wasn't even sure if she could help put his soul to rest. Unable to handle the thought of the Mastermind having his way, Isamu finally allowed her the quiet sobs to escape her mouth once more.

"Geez, what a crybaby. See this is the kind of stuff I was talking about when I was happy the two lovebirds had gotten killed off before the third trial." the demented bear grumbled in annoyance.

Shizko was about to open her mouth to give another angry response until she found herself interrupted by Leon saying "If that's what you want, fine then. We'll settle this with one last Class Trial."

The rest of the teens stared in shock at the red-head, taken back by his tone of voice. They could still pick up the anger and hatred carried in the tone of his voice, but they could also strangely pick up a bit of content as well. This left them all to wonder what the teen would be content about , especially when he was agreeing to endure through yet another horrible trial. All they knew was that there had been a strange shift within the nineteen year-old after his close encounter with death. Suddenly, they were awoken from their thoughts by the sound of Monokuma's laughter.

"My aren't you the confident one." the demented bear commented with his arms crossed, his red eye glowing as he continued, "Would that confidence remain if your friends were to learn that a killer is among them? The killer being, which by the way, not the one that killed Isas but rather someone that had experience with murder before entering this killing game."

Leon's hands clenched slightly with his eyes narrowed. He knew immediately the robotic bear was referring to him. He took a quick glance around the room, noticing the many expressions of shock and disbelief painted on his friends' faces. He didn't blame them for feeling that way, anyone would become unnerved if they learned an experienced killer was trapped in a killing game with them. But despite this, he refused to back down. After all, he still intended to keep his promise.

With confidence flowing through him, the baseball player stated in a stern tone "Doesn't matter. I will end this no matter what. For everyone that has died, I will expose you."

Silence filled the air as the bear and the red-head stared at each other, their glares to sending silent threats to each other. finally, Monokuma simple shrugged his shoulders with a laugh. But it wasn't his typical laugh the remaining survivors had grown familiar with, rather a dark and slightly amused laugh. He lifted up his head with his mouth wide in amusement and his eye shining brighter than ever.

"Very well, I accept your challenge." the bear replied, his voice dripping with professionalism.

Without another word, his usual laughter escaped his mouth, filling the air as he left the room.  
Leon's pale-blue eyes followed the bear as he left. He could easily sense the confidence emanating from the Mastermind behind the controls, especially evident by him willingly dropping the Monokuma persona to allow his true self to seep through. He wanted nothing more than to crush that confidence and help lay his dead friends' souls to rest. He inhaled deeply, gathering his thoughts before finally beginning what would be his final investigation.

Due to having witnessed the murder in real time, he did not need to look at the Monokuma File. He knew Isas had died from a stabbing and the weapon being a survival knife that was left lodged in the teen's chest. So with the killer obviously being the Mastermind himself, the nineteen year-old knew all his search efforts had to be focused on learning the Mastermind's name. Determination flowed through him as he searched every inch of the secret room, hoping the Mastermind was foolish enough to leave behind any kind of personal item that could point toward his identity.

He kept searching until he heard Naoko shout for him. Curious to see what the sprint runner had found, he turned to see the teen standing over the desk with the files scattered on top of it. Leon didn't waste anytime making his way over to the desk, but once he did, he was slightly unnerved at what he found. On the desk was sixteen files; eight of them with pictures of the dead participants besides Isas with a large stamp reading "Dead" placed on all of them, seven of them with only pictures of the remaining participants along with Isas, and finally a single file that contained nothing clipped to nor stamped on it.

"Hey guys, you might want to come over here and check this out." Leon called out to his companions, prompting the four teens to approach the desk as well.

Mineko raised a brow in interest at the sight of the sixteen files before picking up her respective file. Wanting to know of its contents, she opened up the file. Once she did this, an audible gasp escaped her mouth.

"Wha... how did the Mastermind gets these?" she uttered in a surprised yet frightened tone.

Inside the file contained pictures of Mineko performing daily life activities such as taking walks, chatting with friends, and so on. Along with the pictures was a series of notes; detailing where she lived, those she considered close, her fears, her secrets, her weaknesses, and her Ultimate status.

"How could I have known that someone was gathering all this personal information on me?" the music composer asked out of disbelief, "Surely I or anyone else would have noticed some weirdo taking pictures and jotting down notes of my every move."

Curious if their respective files contained the same type of information, the remaining teens grabbed their files and opened them up. Sure enough, all the files contained personal information on each of the remaining participants, detailing nearly every information of their daily lives.

"So remember the theory I made about the Mastermind using employees working for him in order to gain information on us?" Shizko sighed as she slapped closed her file, "It's pretty much confirmed at this point. Whoever this Mastermind is must have many people working for him; people that apparently blend into all of our daily lives to the point none of us even realized that we were being spied on."

"Okay, so fifteen files contain info on all of us. But I'm confused, why is there a sixteenth file if there's only fifteen participants." Naoko questioned whilst scratching his head.

Leon's body stiffened as his gaze focused on the blank file. There was no doubt in his mind that the sixteenth file was for the Mastermind himself. He easily remembered how Junko had revealed to him that the Mastermind was the sixteenth participant that had kept himself hidden throughout the entire killing game. Yet the question still remained as to why the Mastermind would have made a file for himself. The athlete found himself puzzled by this question. after all, it didn't make sense for the Mastermind to gather information on himself.

With his confusion and curiosity growing with each second, he picked up the blank folder and opened it up to see. Much to his surprise, the only thing inside the folder was multiple pictures of high school students. He didn't know which high school they were from until he had spotted a familiar emblem peeking out from the top right of a picture.

"These pictures are of students from Hope's Peak Academy." he thought out loud.

"Not only that, there's a note clipped on the top of the file." Toshiro commented before reading aloud, "Congratulations on your hard work. May you help contribute to the new generation that continues to strive for a hope filled future with your abilities as the Ultimate Businessman. Signed, the Headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy, Makoto Naegi."

Upon hearing those words, Leon had felt realization had struck him like lightning. Now it made sense for the Mastermind to be able to employ so many people to help him prepare for the killing game. With his status as the Ultimate Businessman, the Mastermind would be well known and widely acclaimed for his skills to the point many people would die for the chance to work for the man. The facts were lining up nicely in the red-head's mind, yet much to his frustration, he still lacked a name. Suddenly, his line of thinking was shattered by Naoko shaking his shoulder frantically.

"Leon, stop daydreaming and look!" the ginger-headed teen exclaimed while jabbing his index finger toward one of the pictures, "This picture has that guy we saw get executed in that video! You know, that Takechi Kichiro guy!"

Glancing down at the photo, Leon easily spotted the man from the video. With no ropes tied around Takechi like in the video, he was finally able to get a good look at the man. Upon examination he noticed the man was wearing a blue security uniform and a stern expression painted on his face. The man's eyes seemed focused on a group of teens happily chatting among themselves. In the baseball player's eyes, none of the teens in the photo seemed like they were interested in the business field except for one. He wasn't able to see the teen's face due to it being obscured by his fellow companions, but he could see the teen had dark purple hair and was wearing a black suit.

"So I guess that guy was a guard for Hope's Peak Academy." Isamu suggested, snapping Leon out of his thoughts.

"Nah, his uniform doesn't contain the Hope's Peak emblem." Toshiro noted upon examining the photo, "Has to be employed somewhere else."

"Then why would a security guard for somewhere else be in a picture for Hope's Peak Academy?" Mineko questioned.

The red-head pursed his lips whilst deep in thought. Mineko had brought up a very good question, leaving him to wonder why the man was in uniform despite not being a security guard for Hope's Peak Academy. His thoughts drifted back to the contents of the video on the flash drive. Many questions ran through his mind. He understood the Mastermind had decided to use Takechi as an example, yet he still wondered why Takechi had chosen out of all people. The only reason he could think of is if the Mastermind had an ulterior motive for executing the man.

Staring closely at the picture of the man, his eyes ran over every single detail. After a few seconds of searching, he finally spotted something. On the man's arm was a red band that read "Sachio." At that moment, Takechi's final words echoed throughout Leon's mind. He remembered that before the bullet was shot into Takechi's head, he had cried out "Sa-"

Wishing to confirm his suspicions, he turned toward Mineko and asked "Mineko, remind me again what was the name of the business that bought this factory."

The music composer nodded her head in reply before answering that the business was name Sachio Construction.  
Upon hearing that, Leon couldn't help but let a confident grin form on his face. He finally now understood why Takechi was killed. It wasn't just to make an example to the other employees, it was because he was too close to the Mastermind.

 _"I guess he felt threatened by Takechi, worried he would expose his plans for a killing game to the authorities. So he figured to use his death to silence any chance of his killing game being revealed to the public. Figures, if his killing game was revealed early, he wouldn't even had the chance to hold it in the first place."_ he thought to himself.

But with that in mind, all that was left for him was to piece together the clues to the Mastermind's name. He knew the Mastermind was a Hope's Peak Academy Graduate, having attended the school as the Ultimate Businessman. He recalled the graduation file had mentioned that the Mastermind was recognized for his family lineage; that would mean that his name would be connected to the name of the business. Ever so slowly, the answers became clear in the teen's mind. There was no doubt in his mind; he knew who the Mastermind's name was.

Having obtained the final answer he needed, he inhaled deeply before answering "I know the Mastermind's name now, or at least his last name. Hopefully now this will be enough to satisfy the one behind the controls of Monokuma."

"Wait, how did you even figure out his name?" Naoko asked, "I wasn't able to see anything like that in any of the files we've came across."

"I'll explain in the trial. It's pretty obvious that where the Mastermind wants us to do it there anyway. He really wants to events to play out near identical to Junko's killing game." Leon replied.

"Wait, you said 'he'!" Isamu exclaimed in surprise, "You really must know who the Mastermind is if you're confident about the gender as well."

The red-head nodded in response. But before he could take a single step, he felt someone grab a hold of his arm. He turned to see Mineko staring at him. He grew worried when he saw the nervousness in her green eyes and how her teeth were slightly biting down on her lip. He didn't even have to guess to know what the girl was worried about. He easily knew she was worried about Monokuma's claim of there being a killer among the group since the beginning of the killing game. Silently he lifted up his freehand and gently patted it atop of the teen's head, prompting her to gasp in surprise.

"You're wondering if I managed to figure out who the killer Monokuma was as well aren't you, Mineko? Well the truth is, he is right and I do know who it is." he stated with a small smile.

Immediately he noticed the nervous and unsure stares of his companions focused on him. He could tell they were all paranoid and frightened by this revelation. Yet despite this, he felt confident he could reveal his secret to them. The baseball player imagined he would receive many shocked reactions and even with some of his companions demanding for explanations. But he wasn't afraid, he believed the reveal of the secret wouldn't ruin his friendship with them. They had known him over almost a month, learning what kind of person he was. He hoped this new fact wouldn't change this at all.

Gathering up his nerves with a deep breath, he finally revealed "Truth is this isn't my first killing game. Twenty years ago I had killed a girl named Sayaka Maizono. Of course back then, I didn't go by the name Leon Saisei, that had been my name after I died. Back then I was better known as Leon Kuwata, the Ultimate Baseball Star of Hope's Peak Academy."


	34. Chapter 34 - The Final Trial

Chapter 34

"You're joking right?" Toshiro spoke up in a breathless tone, "You have to be. Yet now that I think about it, you do sound like the teen my parents described."

"It can't be him! I've heard of reincarnation but isn't that concept around you becoming a different person?" Shizko exclaimed in disbelief.

Leon remained silent as his companions started arguing among themselves. It was a reaction he wasn't surprised by, anyone would find the claim hard to swallow. He turned toward Mineko to see her staring wordlessly up at him with her mouth hanging ajar. In the corner of his eye he could see Isamu and Naoko staring at him in silence as well. He didn't know if their silence was for being in shock of his identity, or sadness to learned he had killed before the current killing game. He seemed lost in his thoughts until he felt Mineko's grip tighten on his arm.

Focusing his attention back on her, he could see her green eyes were brimming with tears. The red-head was confused by the until he watched as she gently pulled him into a hug with a few quiet sniffs.

"No wonder you called me Sayaka that day." she muttered quietly, "You didn't deserve to be forced through this hell a second time, even if you had claimed a life in your previous life."

Leon remained speechless at this action, stunned by the girl's reaction. Before he could even react, he felt two hands pat his shoulders. Looking at his sides he was greeted with the sight of Isamu resting her head against his shoulder and Naoko patting his shoulder with a smile. He couldn't help but laugh before a small smile of gratefulness formed on his face. Glancing over at Shizko and Toshiro, he noticed the two were no longer arguing with each other and were instead staring at him in surprise.

"You really are Leon Kuwata." Shizko muttered whilst rubbing her arm, "Now I understand why you spoke about admiring that my attempt to save Kiyoshi weren't out of cowardice. It also explains your panic attacks. You had personally experienced the horrors Kazuo, Kiyoshi, Seiichi, and Mineko ended up enduring through."

"But still," Toshiro began with a frown, "why did the murders still happened? Shouldn't you have been able to use your knowledge to prevent them?. No offense but you understand the mindset of a killer having experienced it in your previous life."

The baseball player's smile faltered slightly from hearing the director's question. Part of the reason being he saw the brown-headed teen still retained some of his arrogant ways. The other reason at being presented with the same question Hiroko and Junko had presented him. There was always a part of him that still wished he had done something, but he knew all his companions wished that. All of them wished they could go back in time and save their friends from their deadly fates. But with his time in limbo, he understood that wasn't possible. He knew he could never change past events, but what he could do was use his knowledge of his mistakes to strive toward a better future.

With this in mind, his confident smile returned with full force. The feelings building within him reminded him of his enthusiasm he had once shown for wishing to become a musician; an enthusiasm he thought that was lost the moment he had originally died.

"Some things were beyond my control. But those things are said and done, what's important now is taking down the Mastermind and ending this freaking killing game!" he responded.

Just as his final words left his month, the intercom turned on with Monokuma announcing that investigation period was over. Leon took in a deep breath while flexing his hands a bit. The moment had finally come; his chance to defeat the Mastermind at his own game had finally arrived. Without another word the group of teens each shared a confident nod in agreement before making their way to the elevator. Only the sounds of the elevator doors closing and metal cables moving filled the air as the elevator began its descent.

Leon couldn't help but feel thankful that this would be his final trip on the elevator. It was a relief to know the nightmare would finally end. No more motives, no more paranoia, no more killings, and no more despair. It would all end with one last trial. It only took a few minutes for the elevator to reach its destination and open up its doors once more.  
Stepping out of the elevator, the remaining participants were horrified the be greeted with a black and white room filled with countless numbers of deactivated Monokuma units.

The red-head clenched his teeth and furrowed his brows, growing slightly unnerved to see all the Monokuma units at nearly every corner of the room. In an attempt to help himself calm down, he turned his attention to the stands. Instantly he noticed two things that were different from the previous trial. The first thing he saw was a colorless picture of Isas with the traditional red X painted over his face in his usual spot. The second thing he noticed was the addition a sixteenth stand painted black and white with none other than Monokuma standing behind it.

"So the fools have arrived." Monokuma spoke up in the strange professional tone, "The Mastermind can't stand the thought of having to wait for their pawns. The wait is so boring."

Upon hearing the bear's words, Naoko raised a brow in confusion as he pointed out "You're kind of talking weird. You use to talk so goofy like. Now you sound all professional like you are trying to make a business deal."

"Oh that. Let me tell you, trying to sound like Junko can get tiring. Always trying to picture what she would say in the scenario yet being unable to perfectly replicate that demented nature of hers. I'd rather give myself a break and allow my true personality shine through." the robotic bear answered in a dull tone.

Leon clenched his fist. He could the Mastermind had no intent of hiding himself. He wasn't sure exactly what would happen once he exposes the Mastermind's identity, but he didn't want to worry about that for the moment. Right now he needed to gather up the clues in order to insure the Mastermind would have no where to hide. Determination flowed through him as he took his place at his assigned stand. His heart pounded in both excitement and nervousness as the final class trial had finally begun.

"So we're all here to discuss who is Isas Ken's murderer." Monokuma started the discussion, "You insist the killer is the Mastermind controlling me but failed to give out a name. You have three choices, those three being the three participants that weren't present for Isas' murder."

The athlete's eyes glanced over toward Naoko, Toshiro, and Shizko. He immediately realized that Monokuma was trying to shift the blame toward one of them. With none of them really having any alibis for the time of Isas' murder, the robotic bear could easily convince his remaining companions of the possibility that one of the three could be the Mastermind. Thinking fast, he pointed out how Isamu had been searching the Business Room for hours and that if one of the three teens wanted to sneak into the secret room, they would have to cross her path.

But much to his disappointment, the robotic bear easily countered the point by bringing up the hidden passage way. The nineteen year-old clenched his fist with a small snarl. He had forgotten about the passage's existence. His mind sorted through different excuses, trying to come up with evidence to prove the passageway wasn't used by any of his three comrades. If he wasn't able to come up with an explanation then they would already have lost to the Mastermind.

He kept thinking, sorting through different scenarios until Isamu brought up "They couldn't have used the passageway. Otherwise one of them would have blood on their clothes."

Leon's brows raised in surprise. He was only confused by her words for a few seconds before the answer struck him. Wasting no time, he reminded everyone how the killer had gotten Isas' blood on their clothes when they stabbed him during the struggle. None of them were given a spare set of clothes, meaning the Mastermind would have to go upstairs to the washroom and put on the jumpsuit while their clothes washed. The teenage boy knew that with all these factors combined, that only two companions would have arrived at the same time with the third arriving at a later time.

"So what?" Monokuma replied with the shrug of his shoulders, "If you all recall, the body announcement didn't go off immediately. It's simple that the Mastermind washed their clothes before making the announcement. After all, the ones missing from the scene of the murder didn't arrive until they heard the announcement."

"That's a pretty week argument. It would have taken longer than a few minutes for clothes to be washed and dried." Naoko stated with furrowed brows.

Upon hearing this response, the robotic bear fell silent with his red eye glowing ominously. Suddenly the sound of deep laughter rumbled forth from him. The laughter nearly echoed off the walls, causing some of the teens to grow unnerved by the laughter.

"So there is a brain in there after all. Figuring how stupid and naive you are, I figured you would easily buy that excuse. After all you're the dork that demanded why someone would be afraid of a baseball when you totally forgot the first murderer in the Hope's Peak Academy killing game was pummeled to death with a thousand of them! Bah ha ha ha!" Monokuma taunted.

Naoko's body stiffened in response. He had completely forgotten about the time he had unintentionally triggered Leon's PTSD. Now that he knew the reason for the panic attack, he couldn't help but feel guilty. His yellow eyes glanced downward with his body extremely tense. He didn't have to guess to know this was the Mastermind's attempt to unnerve him. If he was filled with despair then he wouldn't be able to be of help to his friends. With his teeth clenched and his feet bouncing slightly as he began to jog in place, the teen gathered his nerves to continue onward in the trial.

"Monokuma, stop beating around the bush." Leon demanded with a slight snarl, "All these attempts to pin the blame on the others is just to shake up our teamwork. You had already confirmed that Toshiro isn't the Mastermind. Shizko and Naoko had placed themselves in situations that neither of them would dream of if one of them were the Mastermind. You aren't afraid to hide so just finally confess about the sixteenth participant you have kept hidden all this time."

"Wait, sixteen?!" Toshiro exclaimed in shock, "Have you gone mad, Leon? Where's all this talk about a sixteenth participant coming from? There hasn't been any kind of clues or implications that there's a sixteenth participant."

The director awaited for the robotic bear to debunk the teen's claims, but much to his surprise, that response never came. Instead he noticed the bear was eerily silent. This prompted him to wonder if his companion's claims had any merit to them. He didn't see how there could be a sixteenth participant, but chose to have faith in his friend. After all, he had seen that Leon had no aim to create any lies and only sought out the truth for the sake of everyone's safety. A fact he was thankful that Hideyo had helped point out even though it cost her life.

His thoughts drifted back to the previous trial. He recalled his purposeful deceit and despicable nature he had put on in order to convince his companions that he was the Mastermind. The nineteen year-old understood that it would have been very easy for his athletic comrade to allow his emotions to guide him and insist that he was the murderer. Yet he was proven wrong when not only Leon but the deceased Isas had stood up for him. As his thoughts shifted back to the present a small smile formed on his face.

"But if you insist that there is a sixteenth participant we failed to take notice of," he began in tone with no hint of his usual arrogance, "then I will believe you. We're all here to find the truth."

"Oh, so you were putting faith in others now? You use to be one of the entertaining ones, Toshiro." Monokuma sighed out of disappointment, "You haven't been the same since that stupid stunt actress got herself killed with that dumb plan that obviously was never going to work. Anyways you don't have proof of there being a sixteenth participant. If there was, that participant would been forced to apply to the rules or otherwise suffer the consequences."

The room fell silent as the group of teens struggled to come up with an answer. If there was a sixteenth participant, surely they would have to comply with the rules. But during all those times they were forced to comply with mandatory meetings, trials, and motives; none of them saw any sign of a hidden individual. How could there be a hidden sixteenth participant if the participant would have been punished for not obeying the rules?

No one had an answer until a female voice suggested "What if this participant has been obeying the rules?"

Everyone turned to see Shizko with her eyes closed and her arms folded in thought.

"It's kind of like how Naoko managed to prevent Mineko from being executed by pointing out a loophole.", she began, "Nothing in the rules state that the participants must remain in sight at all times. After all a rule like that would discourage the participants from committing murder. If the Mastermind is this mysterious sixteenth participant, they can obey the rules without being seen. The Mastermind would be controlling you and you're always present for trials and announcements, meaning they would always be present. As for the motives, the Mastermind would only be required to obey the first motive that forbids participants from using their talents. Besides it's weird that the Mastermind only picked fifteen participants instead of the traditional sixteen. It's like how Junko hid for nearly her entire killing game."

Once the final word left her mouth, she reopened her icy blue eyes. A confident smile formed on her face when she had seen her response had left the demented bear speechless. Her smile only grew wider when she remembered Kiyoshi's final wish. Silently she placed her hand over it chest, feeling the frantic yet strong beats of her heart. It was hard for her to believe that she was almost through with the nightmare she was forced to endure for almost a month. She managed to stay true to her promise to her deceased friend and intended to stay true to it until the very end.

Monokuma remained silent as he stared at the determined teens filled with hope. The sight of the teens did nothing but fill him with amusement. He couldn't wait to crush their hope with a single blow. After all, everything was going according to his plan. Much to his pleasing, he knew it would only be a matter of time until his identity would finally be exposed. Once his identity is revealed, he knew that would be when the fun for him would finally begin. Deciding to proceed in his plans, he requested in a sly tone for the group of teens to answer the name of the mysterious sixteenth participant.

Leon's breath hitched the moment he heard the demented bear's voice. Although he knew the Mastermind had no intention of making himself sound like Junko, he considered the way the robotic bear had just spoke near identical to Junko's serious personality. But he quickly chose not to focus on that aspect, quickly pushing those thoughts to the side with the shake of his head. All that mattered to him was exposing the Mastermind and ending the killing game.

Knowing he needed to give an answer, despite the sense of worry grwoing in his stomach, he answered "Sachio. That's the Mastermind's last name. All the facts line up. The factory was bought by Sachio Construction and Hiroko found a file about a Hope's Peak graduate that was recognized for his lineage. Then there was the file in the security room where one of the files contained a series of photos; one of those photos being of Takechi Kichiro, the man executed in the video on the flash drive. He managed to cry out 'Sa-' before being cut off upon death. Add in the fact he was a security guard for Sachio Construction it's clear that Sachio is the Mastermind!"

Monokuma tilted his head in intrigue from the teen's words. It surprised him how many clues the red-head managed to gather up, but it didn't matter to him. With a small snicker, his form began to disappear behind a cloud of steam.

"So you say the Mastermind is Sachio. Well..." a deep and masculine voice spoke up.

The steam cleared away to reveal in Monokuma's place was now a man with slicked back and spiked purple hair in his late twenties. He was dressed in white suit that remained unbuttoned, a black dress shirt and shoes, and a red tie that hung loosely around his neck. The man wore a sadistic smirk on his face and a mixture charm and insanity filled his blue eyes.

"You'd be right!" he finished with a slightly psychotic laugh and his arms swung out, "Name's Kano Sachio, pleasure to finally make all of your acquaintances in person!"

 **Kano Sachio - The Ultimate Businessman**

Leon blinked in surprise at the purple-headed man's nature. He knew the Mastermind was the Ultimate Businessman, but he never expected him to be so eccentric. At first glance, he could see how no one was able to catch on that the psychotic man was planning a killing game for an unknown amount of time. One the surface, he seemed like a normal cocky rich guy to the teenage boy. But upon closer examination, he could sense the same demented nature that dwelt within Junko in the man's eyes and smile.

"Yo-you're the Mastermind?" Isamu spoke up in a shaky tone, "That means your the one that murdered Isas."

"Got that right sweet cheeks." Kano taunted with a wink, "Such a shame, I was totally intended to kill Saisei, or should I say Kuwata, over here. It's not my fault your boyfriend's noble nature made him so stupid that he willingly jumped into conflict. I have to admit, it was entertaining to see him fight with all his might, but I needed someone dead to trigger the final trial. I would be crazy to pass up a golden opportunity served on a silver platter so I did what any Mastermind would do and stabbed him in the heart."

The robotics expert bit down on her lip hard, both out of rage and hurt. It disgusted her to now be standing before the man that caused the deaths of so many of her friends. Her body trembled as she glared at the purple-headed man, wishing she could instantly wipe away the smirk he constantly wore on his face. But for the sake of her friends, she kept her anger locked up. Throughout the killing game, she had always relied on Isas to help her stay calm, not falling prey to her anxiety. But Isas was gone now; all that was left for her was to brave through the final trial.

She wasn't sure how, but she intended to take down the demented man with her friends' help. No matter what it took, she wanted to honor all of her friends' wishes to escape the killing game with everyone else.

"You know you're being awfully calm. According to your own rules, with you being Isas' killer that means you have to be executed." Mineko pointed out with some uneasiness carrying in her voice.

"Ah ha ha. Didn't you forget sweetheart or are you really that dense? According to your friends, I never clarified that a punishment means execution. Those three dorks just so happened to die to their punishments unlike like you." Kano responded with a chuckle before shifting into his serious demeanor, "But if you're insisting that a punishment means death, I can easily arrange to have you executed like you were suppose to."

The light-brown-headed girl didn't respond, instead opting to slap her hands over her mouth to muffle her horrified gasp.

The Mastermind's mouth twitched into a slight smirk, showing his clear amusement with his success of frightening the girl. Figuring that he might as well explain his joy at being discovered, he asked to the group of teens to explain the reason for the sudden abundance of evidence pointing toward a sixteenth participant. Just like he anticipated, the teens struggled to come up with an answer. He couldn't help but snicker while slicking a few stray bangs back into place.

"Amazing. You kids made it this far by exposing murderers yet fail to see the obvious. Heh, this is going to make my answer all the more sweeter." he taunted with his typical dark chuckle,"Look at the facts. This revelation of my existence came out of nowhere right? If it weren't for you all finding my careful laid out clues, you would have all assumed that it was only fifteen participants. So this of course means only one thing. I'm sure you can put the pieces together by now."

At that moment, Leon felt like his heart came to screeching halt. His eyes were wide whilst his arms hung limply at his sides.

"I can't believe I didn't realize it before." he managed to mutter despite his shock, "I should have known those clues were too easy to find. You were so careful to hide your existence until now. You even confessed to me as Monokuma that you weren't mad that Hiroko had found the flash drive with the video, you were mad that she found it too early. None of that wouldn't make any sense unless you wanted us to reveal your identity."

Kano let out a hum with his brows raised in intrigue.

"You continue to amaze me, Kuwata." he stated whilst stuffing his hands into his pocket, "Managing to be reborn yet ironically enough find yourself in yet another killing game. Makes me grateful that I got to meet your parents as a child, otherwise I probably would have never considered you as a participant. Heck even before I learned your identity as the first murderer in Junko's killing game, you captured my interest. Seeing your drive and your hatred toward me; all those interesting factors were amplified once I learned of your true identity. You're just such an amazing subject of conflict!"

The red-head couldn't help but grimace at the man's words. Hearing the man's praise of conflict made him remember Junko's claims whilst he was in limbo. He remembered the strawberry-blonde stating her disappointment with Kano as the Mastermind, stating that the man was more interested in conflict than despair. Now it was clear to him why she had made such claims. It was clear the businessman had an unhealthy obsession with conflict, evident when he had decided to spark conflict himself by claiming Toshiro was the Mastermind after the third trial.

Suddenly, Leon's thoughts were snapped back to the present when Shizko exclaimed "Why would you want us to expose your identity as the Mastermind?! That's stupid! Doesn't your exposure mean the end of the killing game?!"

The purple-headed sighed man with the shake of his head; the expression of disappointment and boredom painted on his face.

"Geez, isn't it obvious?" he began with his eyes shinning with malice, "If the people want to combat despair, they're going to need a target. By showing everyone my identity I can finally fulfill my greatest goal since childhood! Which reminds me, I have to thank you kids for being such team players. Because of your help, I will have finally succeeded in bringing in the rebirth of the greatest event to happen to mankind. This killing game will only be the beginning of a chain reaction that will lead to the Second Tragedy!"


	35. Chapter 35 - Fear vs Bravery

Chapter 35

Words failed to escape Leon's mouth as he stared in shock. Memories of the chaos created by the first tragedy filled his mind. He could recall his brief memories of the outbreak of people attacking and killing each other before he and the rest of his classmates locked themselves away within the school. He couldn't understand why anyone would want, let alone consider, to bring back that horrible event. He had heard the world had continued to endure through its despairful hell even after Junko's death; the full effect of her death finally putting an end to the fighting a near two years later.

The red-head wanted to believe the man before him was only making a joke; a horrible joke to throw off their guard. But from staring at the man's demented smirk and the excitement shining in his eyes, he could see Kano was very serious with his wish. This left the teenager to return to the original question filling his mind, that being why Kano would want such a horrible event to return. Before he could even stop himself, the question rolled off his tongue with ease, not giving him a chance to consider if asking was the wisest decision.

Kano chuckled as he leaned forward on his stand, easily intimidating the six teens in the room with his presence.

"I suppose you all made it this far, I should explain myself." the businessman began with his eyes glinting in mischievousness, "I believe you'll find my reason to be quite intriguing."

He paused in his explanation to drink in the tense atmosphere for a few moments before continuing, "The thing is, I careless about hope or despair. I know I might look like one of Junko's brainwashed lackeys at the moment, but I'm not really crazy into the concept of despair. I guess maybe if you squint, then yeah, I can probably technically be considered a Remnant of Despair since I'm trying to revive despair in the world with this killing game. But point being, I'm not doing this for the sake of despair or even some crack pot plan to test the strength of hope. Hope and despair is meaningless to me. I'm doing this for the conflict."

At the mention of the word, Kano was practically shaking with joy. Barely able to contain his excitement, he revealed when his interest in conflict had began. For him, life was boring as a child. Having stemmed from a rich and prominent family in Japan allowed him to live a life of luxury; a life he couldn't stand. He could recall the dull and continuous pattern he had endured through days on, mostly created from his father trying to groom his as the successor to Sachio Construction. He had never imagined he would find escape until the day he saw the news on TV.

"It was discussing the tragic event at Hope's Peak Academy where two-thousand, three-hundred, and fifty-seven students from the Reserve Course went on a murdering spree before committing mass suicide. That news section was my first exposure to conflict." he stated; his blue eyes glimmering with excitement.

He could remember his interest and amaze only grow stronger from that day on. The more days passed on, the more people started fighting and killing each other until finally the world slipped into despair.

"It was the first different thing to enter my life. It didn't follow the same boring pattern of my rich peaceful life. I could watch the countless number of fights between people for hours on. I wanted it to never end." Kano sighed before slowly his smile faded from his face and he continued in a venomous tone, "Then Makoto Naegi had to steal that all away from me."

The purple-headed man clenched his teeth in hatred at the one responsible bringing hope back into the world. With hope restored, the conflict he had come to enjoy as a child had came to an end. Much to his disappointment, his family had easily regained their standing on the social latter after the Tragedy. All the destruction caused by the riots proving to be a great opportunity to advertise their specialties in construction.

"I wanted that enjoyment back. I didn't want to live the rest of my life with the tedious boredom that is the rich life. I wanted the excitement and the thrill of conflict. That is why I'm dedicating my everything to creating this killing game that will serve as the beginning of a chain reaction. I may not care for despair, but if I have to allow myself to be seen as the next Junko Enoshima to reignite conflict in the world, then so be it!" Kano finally finished with a psychotic grin.

Leon remained silent, too stunned to respond from hearing the man's words. He knew exactly why the businessman was so confident that his identity being exposed as the Mastermind would trigger the second tragedy. Before Hiroko died, he remembered her discussing how Makoto wanted to help repair Hope's Peak Academy's reputation by going to great lengths to insure no one like Junko Enoshima would attend again. He knew Kano clearly was a famous figure in Japan, one people would immediately know who was an Ultimate that attended Hope's Peak Academy. People for hope would be enraged that Makoto had allowed another Junko Enoshima to attend the school who would go on to repeat her actions, while those for despair would see Kano as a leader to inspire them to spread despair. With both sides empowered, it would create the conflict Kano craved.

Taking a moment to allow his pale-blue eyes to glance around the trial room, he noticed the terrified expressions on his companions' faces. For a few brief seconds, the bitterness of regret formed in the pit of his stomach. He had insured them that exposing the Mastermind would end the killing game and bring everyone peace. Instead it only seemed like they had played right into the businessman's scheming hands. His teeth clenched tightly in rage as he slammed his fist on the stand.

"So in other words, you've already succeeded. Surely you're airing this killing game to everyone watching, just like Junko Enoshima." Toshiro noted in a defeated tone.

The baseball player inhaled sharply, preparing himself for more taunts to emerge from the twenty-eight year-old man.

"Funny thing about that, they actually don't know yet." Kano began to explain, surprising everyone in the room, "I couldn't afford to set up security measures to insure no one would disturb the killing game as that would have drawn people's attention to the factory before the killing game could even start. Now I simply couldn't have that. So I was left with no choice to have this entire killing game filmed and show it to the audience as a pre-recording rather live viewing like Junko's. That's why it was important that you guy's spirits be utterly crashed, hence why I killed your friend to start the final trial. No one would feel angry enough to come after me if they think you kids already beat me."

"Aren't you worried confessing this would only make the audience do the opposite that you claim they would?" Shizko questioned with confusion, not understanding why the older man felt at ease with confessing his intentions.

The purple-headed man snickered whilst waving his index finger, prompting the six teens to grow worried. He was convinced that he could admit to every single one of his dark secrets and he still would succeed in triggering the second tragedy. His smirk twitched into a demented grin, stating that his plan would work because people fear the past.

"Just think. With every murderer in this killing game, aside from the motives, what was the driving force that sent them to desperation for escape?" Kano asked while propping his hand underneath his chin.

Just with one glance, Leon could tell his companions all shared the same answer in their minds. He didn't want to admit it, but Kano had brought up a good point. Looking back at the previous trials, he knew each of the killers before being executed shared a common fear. Not a fear connected to their past but rather the past of the killing game itself. It was common knowledge that everyone forced to play the killing game feared dying like the victims of Class Seventy-Eight. It was that fear that served as the driving force as each killer desperately tried to fight for their lives in trial. It was a fear he didn't blame anyone for having, especially when he had held that same fear at the beginning of the killing game.

The red-head felt sick when he noticed Kano's grin grow larger and more confident. It was clear to him that the Mastermind had already realized that everyone had their answer. Allowing his sights to roam around the room once more, he saw all of his friend's were silent. He could see Isamu trembling in fear, Mineko hugging herself, Shizko crying with wide eyes, Naoko collapsed on his knees, and Toshiro staring in the floor in disbelief. All of them had fallen into despair at the realization that their drive to survive out of fear of dying like previous killing games victims only fulfilled Kano's wishes.

Leon's hands formed into two firm fists as he glared at the demented man before him. Before he was unnerved by the man's unhealthy obsession, now it simply annoyed him. He refused to back down and let the businessman have his way. No matter what, he intended to keep his promise to his friends both dead and alive. He would end the killing game and take down the Mastermind.

 _"There has to be something, anything to unnerve this guy."_ he thought to himself, _"Think, out of everything in his mad ramblings, what is the one thing he can't stand?"_

He took a few moments in thought until finally the answer struck him. The athlete's mouth twitched into a smile of confidence.

"Funny all this talk is coming from a guy that fears his own past repeating." he stated, prompting the older man to raise a brow in confusion, "You taunt us for fearing the past, yet you're scared of your life going back to boredom. So you concocted this insane plan in the hopes history would repeat itself and your boredom problem would be avoided."

Kano couldn't help but sneer at the teen's words, especially when he notice the others teens slightly perk up at their companion's words.

"I don't know what you're implying, but you've proven to do nothing but fear your past, Leon Kuwata." he replied with a hint of a snarl in his voice, "Isn't that why you've gotten this far? Isn't it because you were afraid to die in the killing game yet again? People who fear the past are doomed to repeat it! That's why I'm confident this killing game will trigger the second tragedy no matter what!"

"Originally, yes, I was trying to survive to avoid dying to a killing game yet again." Leon began, his smile never left his face, "But that fear eventually faded away, leaving me to careless if I died. I think we both know when was the moment I stopped fearing my past."

Snarls of frustration managed to escape Kano's mouth with his right eye twitching slightly. He knew the teen was referring to his sacrifice to save Mineko. It had both angered and shocked him when he had seen the red-head jump in the middle of the execution and risk his life to save his friend. It was too mind baffling for him to understand at the time, but now he knew the reason why. He knew that the teen was only wanted to at least save one of his friends from their punishment after standing by and watching three of his friends be executed.

"You're trying to convince us that we can do nothing but fear the past and that everyone would rather try to avoid it. Except I'm living proof that you're wrong. It's true some people would rather fear the past and try to run from it, but there's others that want to face it head on, just like I'm doing right now!" the nineteen year-old replied with conviction in his voice.

At that instant, Kano slammed his fist down on his stand, audible grunts and growls of rage emitting from his mouth.

"I hate when people insist I'm wrong. I'm not wrong, you just want to ruin my fun." he accused, his blue eyes full of anger, "You know, Kuwata, I found you amusing, now you're just annoying me. Why don't you just accept I've won and give up just like your friends?"

"Heh, you're even dumber than you think if you believe my friends have given up. They may feel down, but I won't let them forget the promises they made to everyone here!" Leon replied, his words successfully resonating with each of his companions.

Shizko pursed her lips with her eyes focusing on her hands. She could remember how she used to be afraid of losing a close friend. Memories of her coughing up liquid with pink pigments in secret in her room filled her mind. She had wanted no one to learn of her heart illness, worrying she only would leave behind heartbroken friends upon her death. Kiyoshi was the first one to shatter that concept for her. For the first time in her life, she had momentarily forgotten about her fears and simply enjoyed being the cartoonist's friend. It wasn't until Kiyoshi accidentally committed murder that she was reminded of her fears.

Tears brimmed in her eyes, prompting her to squeeze her eyes shut when she remembered Kiyoshi's sad smile and final words. Since that moment, the sculptor had allowed herself to grow close to her companions and make more friends. She took a moment to sniff as she wiped away her tears.; She knew Leon was right, she couldn't let the past scare her anymore. If she allowed that, she could almost picturing Kiyoshi being angry at her for giving up. Allowing her smile to shine bright on her face, she lifted up her head with a confident gaze.

"I made it this far for my friends. It would be silly if I gave up now. I won't let you tear me down like you did with so many of my friends!" she proudly proclaimed.

Naoko was surprised by his companion's words. It amazed him to see the silver-haired girl manage to overcome her negative emotions in such a short amount of time. His yellow eyes glance down to his feet bouncing back and forth a bit. Anxiety and depression were overwhelming him, especially with Kano's claims he would have helped trigger the second tragedy. His breath hitched at the thought the one thing he was trying to avoid would end up plaguing the world once again. He was no stranger to despair, especially after nearly succumbing to it himself when he tried to murder Shizko.

His thoughts drifted to his memories over the course of the killing game, it had disappointed him to learn his belief of staying positive prevents despair was wrong. But the one thing he learned was the peace he felt from facing that part of himself, evident with his encounters with Leon and Shizko. The ginger-headed teen sighed as he crossed his arms. He had only made it this far in the killing game because he had chosen to face his fear. Had he continued to ignore it, he would have snapped long ago and killed one of his friends in a desperate attempt to escape.

With his mind set, the sprint runner sighed before raising his gaze to the Mastermind and responded "If I had a mindset like yours, I wouldn't be here. It's only because I chose to face my fears that I learned it's okay to have some negative feelings. Keeping them bottled up is unhealthy and stressful. I have to thank my friends for helping me realize that. That is why I stand by Leon's stance that we need to face and accept the past, not constantly fear it!"

Toshiro pursed his lips as he considered his friend's words. In the past he was much like Kano. He was desperate to please people that he disillusioned himself. He had allowed himself to grow bitter and hateful all because he simply thought he was embracing the image people wanted him to be. But now, he could see he was being a heartless jerk. During the killing game, he had never stopped to consider how hurtful his praises of the executions were, especially to those mourning for their dead friends. He had treated the killing game as casual entertainment rather than a life threatening situation. He was blind to this fact until Hideyo had given up her life just to open his eyes to the situation he was in.

After that trial, he was forced to comes with terms with a part of himself he never wanted to admit having. He had always blamed people for his flaws, believing that simple hated him without any reasons. In his mind, he thought no one would come to care for him and he carried that thought process into the killing game. He sighed as he took off his green hat to run his freehand through his brown hair. The memory of Leon and Isas sticking with him despite being at his worst still stuck with him. The two could have easily used their emotions to dictate their actions would have resulted in everyone but Mineko being executed. But in the end they chose they have faith in him despite being at his worse at the time, showing that people do care about him.

"While I'm amazing in every way," the director began in his typical arrogant tone before shifting to a more serious one, "Hideyo forced me to take a good look at the ugly side of me I had been blindly harboring for years. That side was created from the fear of being hated by people. I was only able to reel in that part of myself by facing my past, something I could never do with your kind of mindset!"

Mineko raised her brows in surprise at the teen's words. She had never expected such wise words to come from Toshiro of all people, but she understood he was simply inspired by Leon and the others. Her hands clasped against her chest as Kano's words drifted in her mind. She hated to admit it, but she carried the very same mindset for many years of her life. She could recall her constant insistence of wishing not to be a burden all because of her past mistakes. Her hands tightened whilst she bit down on her lip. That fear had followed her into the killing game, with her trying to avoid staying out of other's way when she wasn't needed and always jumping at the first chance to help out when asked.

Her breath hitched when she realized that reason was precisely why Kano, under the guise of Monokuma, demanded she fix the broken camera. He wad getting ready to create a blackout and set her up in a trap that would leave her indirectly responsible for murder. Because she was constantly fearing her past, it had nearly lead to her death had she not been saved by Leon's desperate act of sacrifice. After that day, the music composer had forced herself to take a good look at herself. She kept looking back to the past, fearing repeating actions that would cause her to be a burden, but never considered learning from her mistakes. It was the first time in her life she looked back at what she did wrong and how she could improve, inspiring her to seek out clues herself.

"If it weren't Leon's sacrifice, I would have died never realizing how much of an idiot I was being about burdens." Mineko began with a smile, "Because I lived, I learned that avoiding the mistakes I made in the past doesn't mean I should avoid them completely. I need to learn from them which is what finally gave me the strength to help my friends end this killing game!"

Isamu remained silent from hearing all of her friends' words of confidence. Her eyes squeezed shut as the memory of Isas smiling her filled her mind. She had never stopped to consider how she would survive on her own in the killing game all because the racer had been by her side. Every time she grew anxious or depressed, he would be by her side with comforts of reinsuring and inspiring words. But now she no longer had that luxury, forced to move on alone. Her body trembled as many anxieties filled her mind. She had to wonder if they were truly capable of beating the Mastermind at his own game if they had only done what he wanted in the end.

Before she could slip deeper into her own despair, she almost swore she heard Isas' voice telling her not to give up. Her head immediately sprung up with a gasp, her eyes glancing around the room. She didn't see any sign of the deceased racer, leaving her to believe it was her subconscious trying to cheer herself up. The robotics expert smiled as she wiped away a few stray tears. She now realized what needed to be done. If it were the other way around, with her being deceased and Isas alive, she knew the racer would have pushed on for her sake.

"I was always afraid of falling into despair without Isas around. I knew how much I suffered from anxiety before he came into my life and never wanted to go back to that point of my life. But Isas is no longer with me, leaving me to endure this alone. Except now I don't fear my own despair. There was no way Isas could stay with me forever, which means I need to be brave on my own. After all, Isas would have done the same in my position. Besides, I still got my friends by my side!" the sandy-blonde-headed teen proudly proclaimed.

Seeing all his friends agreed with him, Leon smirked as he stared at the horrified form of the Mastermind.

"You see, Kano, we all feared the past at some point just like you." he began, his voice brimming with confidence and victory, "But we learned the one thing that never occurred to you; instead of constantly living in fear of the past we can learn from it. That is why we can look to the future with confidence, because we aren't afraid to face our pasts!"

Kano was practically seething with rage. His hands curled around the edges of his stand as he snarled. Suddenly without warning he began shouting a string of insults and counterarguments. He wouldn't allow the killing game to have a happy ending, otherwise everything he was working for toward for years will have gone to waste. As he continued, his mind was filled with memories of Takechi discovering his plot and trying to insist that nothing good would come of a killing game, leading him to be executed as an example to those who stood in his way.

Unable to handle his rage anymore, he screamed "Why are you trying to ruin this for me?! **This killing game was my only chance at happiness!** "

Leon sighed with the shake of his head. He couldn't believe the purple-headed man remained stubborn, even after hearing all of his friends' responses.

Deciding to put an end to the nightmare once and for all, he answered "You don't get it, Kano. You always had a choice. You say you didn't want to go back to your life of boredom. But your past doesn't control your present, you do. Had you came to realization with your position as the head of your your construction business, **you could have used your past experiences to change your future without forcing anyone to play this hellish game!** "

Kano was speechless from the red-head's words. He didn't understand how looking back to the past would have changed anything about his future. He was convinced from the moment he was born that there was no escape from the boring rich life for him. The tragedy was the only thing to shatter the tedious pattern of his daily life, leading him to believe that this was the only solution. But much to his disappointment, even that goal was now out of reach for him. Unable to handle the realization he had failed in breaking the surviving teens, a maniacal laugh slipped from his lips.

"Well I see I have no other choice left." he muttered as he reached into his pocket.

At first, Leon didn't understand what the man meant until he saw him toss something at him. Using his reflexes from baseball, he managed to easily catch the object. Much to his surprise, he saw in his hands was a large remote with a red button.

"That's the control for the lock on the entrance." Kano revealed, prompting the teens to glance up at him.

The survivors grew nervous when they saw the purple-headed man grinning sadistically while holding a small black remote in his hands.

"I refuse to go back to that boring hellish life of mine. So unless you want to be taken down with me, I suggest you all head for the elevator now. But either way, it's time for the moment you've all been waiting for. So get ready... IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!" he laughed before pressing the button.

In that instant, all the Monokuma units lying around the room suddenly twitched to life.

 **Despairing Resignation of a Mastermind: Kano Sachio's Punishment**

The sound of Kano's maniacal laughter filled the air as the Monokuma's units started dashing toward him. He grinned as he watched Leon yell at his companions to dash for the elevator. It didn't matter to him anymore the fate to befall the teens, all he wanted to do is escape his boring life. After all, a Mastermind being done in by their own execution seemed like a thrilling and exciting way for him to end life. His laughter continued as one of the Monokumas grabbed a hold of his leg and sunk its sharp teeth into it. Even through the pain, Kano continued to laugh, feeling the sensation of excitement overwhelm him.

Within seconds, more Monokumas swarmed him, digging their claws and teeth into his body. But the Mastermind continued to laugh, spreading out his arms wide to welcome his death. A small hiss escaped his mouth when he felt some Monokumas dig their claws into his waist while pulling down hard. In that instant, his body started sinking in the swarm of Monokumas. Glancing toward the elevator, he saw the door close with Leon staring at him from the the other side of the caged door. He easily noticed the teen's pale-blue eyes were filled with nothing but disappointment and pity for him. This prompted him to let out one last maniacal laugh before slowly sinking into the swarm of Monokumas. The last that was seen of him was his hand extended skyward before it disappeared as well.

Leon sighed as he squeezed his eyes shut. He considered Kano's execution gruesome, but couldn't completely feel sorry for the man. After all, he knew the businessman had allowed himself to succumb to his own fears to the point he would rather die than face his past. Shifting his thoughts away from the demented businessman, he reopened his eyes as the elevator reached its destination. Without a word, he traveled with his friends to the entrance of the factory; the first place they all met at the beginning of the killing game. It wasn't long till they finally reached the large set of metal doors sealed closed by a computer lock.

"Wow, feels kind of nostalgic to be back here. Back to where everything started." Toshiro noted.

"There was more people then. So many people died to this nightmare. I can't believe it's finally over." Mineko sighed.

"I almost thought it would never end, that we would be trapped in here until our deaths. Yet here we are." Naoko said with a small smile.

"We actually made it." Isamu said while trying to fight back her tears, "We survived."

"Kiyoshi and everyone who died would be happy for us. I hope their souls will be at peace now." Shizko replied, her hand unconsciously rubbing her arm at the thought of all her deceased friends.

Leon smiled at his friends, their words bringing happiness to his heart. He couldn't help but feel proud. Not only did he help his friends survive and take down the Mastermind, but he managed to keep his promise to Sayaka. Now all that was left for him was to continue living his life, enjoying every moment he has, looking toward a bright future. With this thought in mind, he pressed the red button on the remote. None of the teens uttered a word as the doors creaked open. For a brief moments they were blinded by the light of the outside world, but this light reminded them that the nightmare was finally over.

Back in the basement of the factory, Kano groaned as his eyes slowly slid open. He saw his body was lying in a broken and bloody pile, surrounded by the now deactivated Monokuma units.

"I'm... I'm alive?" he managed to croak out.

Using what strength he had left, he twisted his head upward to glance at his body. He noticed the Monokumas managed to severely injure him, but due to too many swarming him at once, they mostly ended up damaging themselves. This caused his vital organs to remain mostly untouched. Seeing he had failed to die to his own punishment, he threw back his head in anguish. Tears streamed down his face as a mixture of laughter and sobbing erupted from his mouth. He had tried to plunge people into despair in order to create conflict, even go so far to try to become the next the Junko Enoshima. But in the end, the only one who ended up drowning in despair was him.

The moment the teens stepped out of the factory, they were immediately surrounded by men in black suits. Leon watched as each of his companions were taken aside by the people in suits, leaving only one person to stand before him. His pale-blue eyes widened as his heart nearly stopped when he saw the man standing before him. He looked older and nearly completely different from the last time he saw him, especially with the black suit he wore, but he easily remembered the shaggy brown hair with the ahoge on top.

Makoto stared at the red-head before him in shock. He immediately rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things, but his vision never changed.

Wanting to make sure he wasn't going crazy, he asked in an unsure tone "Leon? Is that really you?"

Leon sighed with a small laugh, seeing his friend hadn't changed much over the years. Without saying a single word, he allowed his mouth to twitch into its signature smirk. He felt no words were necessary, after all just one glance at him and anyone could see that Leon Kuwata was reborn.


End file.
